What if the Gods walked among us?
by AndyMine
Summary: Jack returns to a brave new world after COE and finds someone to help him deal with Ianto's death. But the one that helps him needs help as well.
1. Chapter 1

Four years after Children of Earth:

He stood in the doorway, not knowing which way to turn. It has been like this a lot. It seemed that he never knew which way to go. Left or right, straight or back up the stairs to his office. He was so tired, and the thing in his pocket was bugging him. It must be dealt with. He turned left and headed towards the bay.

It was another rainy night, like the one when he lost Liam. The car accident had changed his life forever. Sean didn't remember it. The doctors said he was lucky to be alive. He didn't feel lucky. He didn't feel anything, just emptiness where Liam once was. As a psychiatrist, Sean knew that the loss would lessen in time. He wished he could remember what had happened. His doctor told him it would get better. The only thing Sean knew was that meant it would get worse, first. It had been four and a half years since the death of his husband. By now, the doctor in him was saying, that he should have been able to remember something.

The movement of his feet coupled with the thoughts in his head led him to the pier. Before long he was looking out on to the endless water of Cardiff Bay. The night always made the water look dangerous and fearful. It allowed him to explore his mind within his darker thoughts. As he looked into the dark, he tried to gain access to his lost memories. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and cleared his mind. Nothing came to him. He tried again. This time, just random images and flashes came to him, so he gave up. He sighed in frustration.

The wind blew saltwater in to his face; he took this as a sign. Pulling the ring out of his pocket, he held it in his hand. He looked at the water and said out loud, "Goodbye Liam. I will always love you." With that done, he threw the ring into the water. Only then did he realize he was not alone. A man dressed in a military coat was looking at him. Sean turned and walked away.

The man with the military coat watched Sean leave and went back to staring at the water. He stood like a statue through the night until the sun caressed the water of the bay.

Returning to an empty apartment was never an easy thing. Sleeping alone was never harder than it was lately. It seemed all things were coming at him at once. If it hadn't been for his practice, Sean would have been committed. If it hadn't have been for his parents, he would not have a practice. Those were the facts. And he lived with that.

As he turned the light off in his bedroom and prepared himself for another sleepless night, the image of the man in the military coat, flashed before his eyes. He sighed and prepared himself for the nightmares.

_9:00am _

Jack moved slowly through the city. He had even changed his clothes and dressed like the natives so he wouldn't seem so god-like. His age had started to show more recently. Some of the natives were picking up on it. It showed in the fear behind their eyes. After so much had happened in the last five years, who could fault them? He didn't blame them for shying away. He was a dangerous man now. And the world was a very different place. Everyone looked a little shy and fearful. They had reverted into themselves. In the end some how he knew he was to blame.

He also didn't want to run into old friends unannounced. Gwen was one of those. He knew that she had resurrected Torchwood Three and had added Rhys and PC Andy to the ranks. Martha was there as well. Oh and Mickey. How could he forget the Tin Dog? He chuckled a little out loud. That made an old grandma to stare at him.

"Sorry madam, I was receiving some shameful comments from my wife." He pointed to the blue tooth in his ear. She nodded and smiled a little. Pausing she went to say something, but Jack beat her to the punch line.

If an old lady still had blush in her cheeks, it was because Jack had reignited the fire. He leaned in and whispered something to the grandma; she snickered and went "Oh My word!" Giggling, she took her leave of the dashing young man with the sky blue eyes. She turned around every few feet to shake her finger at him.

If there was one thing that made Jack feel human again, it was making someone blush! With a lighter heart he walked down the avenue in search of something to do and a laptop, he needed information.

_12:00pm_

Sean overslept and felt sick again when he woke. Nightmares always did that. He told his patients after the event four years ago that they would feel ill from time to time. It was the stress and the uncertainty of any future at all for the human race. He would prescribe something at the government's request and tell them to come back in two weeks. There was no way to help them all. Many took their own lives.

He looked at his own scars. They were from six months prior to the beginning of the end of the world, as the doomsayers told it. He killed his partner of less then a year in a drunken driving accident. He was driving and he was drinking. Three weeks in a coma and his partner's parents were two shakes away from suing him and pressing charges. He woke into a real horror story. His parents change it all and made it disappear. He couldn't remember any of it. The police and hospital report both said he was very intoxicated. They even had a toxicology report. The problem was he hadn't had one drinking that night. Liam was so drunk, Sean remembered, that he took the keys.

Somehow the loss of Liam and the negativity of his friends and family made him think of taking his own life. He was put into a private facility. It was swept under the table, and he had somehow kept his practice. His parents were angry. No one came to see him except his Da. They thought (close friends and family) that by trying to take his own life, he was admitting his guilt. No, he still didn't believe he did it. He just couldn't bear another moment without Liam. Was that so hard to understand?

The shower didn't help; the hot water was down again. Everything was falling apart. He was aware of the pre dystopia that he was living in. The governments anywhere couldn't keep things in order. Curfews were common all over the place, even in The United Kingdom. Parliament and the government body were not to be trusted. The only logical step was to turn to the Monarchy. The Queen, God bless her, was back at the top again. She at least didn't lie to the people the way the politicians had.

He shook his wet head like a dog, allowing the brown curls to form as they dried. He checked his pale face in the mirror and noticed his eyes were bloodshot. The drops the doctor gave him would lessen it. But crying oneself to sleep never really helped lessen the puffiness. He looked thin again; his round face was drawn tight to his cheekbones and chin. He could hear Liam telling him that he needed to gain weight if he was to look halfway presentable. _"Sean your family is going to think I'm starving you. Eat honey."_ He would gently push the food to his mouth and Sean would try to please his partner by taking it. Soft gentle kisses would follow and they would make love on the kitchen table. Of course they devoured the food afterwards. Laughing, Sean would always clean his plate afterwards.

"You're not even here to remind me to eat. Damn it Liam! I couldn't have killed you. Could I have? This is so unfair. I'll never get over this. I really am in hell!" He fell to the floor and sobbed until it was far past his last appointment. He went to the bedroom and fell on the bed. There was no reason to get up now.

Later on that day, Jack sat in a café with a coffee that was not as good as Ianto's and a laptop he purchased that was already set to go. He removed the thought of Ianto quickly for the pain in his chest was trying to return. He still wondered why the cashier looked at him strangely when he tried to pass the Torin sliver tesh coin. He guessed that they still only took earth currency. The assignment was to track down a doctor. Not a Time Lord Doctor, just a doctor. A psychiatrist. He worked for about a half hour into the task at hand, of course stopping off to look at some rather outrageous porn.

"I've been all over but I never seen that before." He said out loud which caused a few Uni girls to giggle. He winked, earning a blush and went back to the job in front of him.

"Hello, what have we here? Wait, I know you." He kept his voice just a little lower. "Your rates seem fair and you are local. I'll give you a try, Dr. Sean Knowlens." And with that he slammed the top down and exited the place. He didn't realize that all eyes were on him.

"Torchwood hot line, if you know of a strange Alien or Alien object or if something just doesn't seem fit, please leave or name, number and a brief message and we'll bring the situation under control. Thank you and have a good day." (beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep)

"Hello Torchwood, I was just at My Café and a man came in. He was really quite fetching, but he was talking to himself and he seemed to be looking for something rather intently. You can see him on camera; I think the number is 2221. I know it is probably nothing, but something about his eyes seemed Alien and oh yeah, he had the most potent smell that was ever to grace a nose. Makes the soul feel stimulated. Thanks. My name is Christina, number 67681120. Thanks again. " She hung up her cell and crossed the street, out of site.

End Chapter One TBC


	2. Chapter 2

The dawn and the new day came too quickly for Sean. The splitting pain, which seemed to be attached to his brain, was aggravated as the sun pierced through the clouds. "Why did Liam want the bedroom to face the east?" He moaned as he forced himself to sit up. A sudden urge found him in the bathroom being sick. He should have known that taking anything on an empty stomach would have done that. He was a doctor, after all. But the need to sleep and not dream was more important than the effects he suffered in the morning. Ah these new designer drugs the Government was pushing! When taken as prescribed, they were okay. But the way he took them, they were dangerous.

He was at the 'I don't care stage' again. He just wished the dreams would go away. Splashing water on his face, he studied himself in the mirror as he did every morning. He turned away from the stranger that stared back at him and headed for the kitchen and a cup of Honey Brush tea to ease his stomach.

The kettle was whistling some time later as the phone rang. He ignored it. It was no one important. No one called him anymore anyway. They just didn't want to be around him. Could he blame them? He didn't want to be around himself anymore. He was just about to turn off the ringer, when something told him to pick it up.

Reaching for the phone he hesitated for a moment, and looked at the calendar. It was Liam's birthday today. Sean knew his father would be on the other end. Somehow, he found the strength to say "Hello?"

"Sean, it's your Da, I just wanted to see if you were okay?" He sounded older today. There was something else. Fear?

"I'm fine Da. How are you?" That sounded stressed even to Sean's ears. He knew his Da wouldn't buy that one.

"I know that is a lie, son. My friend from the Home Office called me to find out why you blew off your patients yesterday. I told him you were under the weather. I had to lie to a friend. Do you how that made me feel?"

Sean slid down the wall and listen to the kettle's impatient tone as it reminded him that the water was ready. He had nothing to say. It was Liam's birthday. Another day that he would never see because of Sean's mistake. "I was sick Da, I just couldn't go in." He sobbed as he hoped his Da would understand.

"Oh Sean, don't cry baby. Has it been bad again? Maybe you should come home for a bit, you mother is away. It would just be the two of us." This was the father that Sean loved, who accepted his marriage to Liam when no one else in his family did.

He let the tears slow as he stood up. They stopped and he regained his composer. "If I do that Da, I will lose my practice. Da, they are watching me. They tell me who I can treat now." He realized that they were more than likely listening to his conversation. He pushed the hair away with his hand and began to sweat.

"Ah Sean, honey, they aren't like that. You have to stop thinking they are watching and listening. You know, with the State the way it is, you are small fish in the large ocean. You do your job and that is all they ask. I'll tell you what; I'll come in to Cardiff to see you tomorrow. We can have lunch or dinner sometime after you appointments. How's that? My treat, son."

His head was hurting again. He had a flash of himself in a car with Liam smiling, the light turned green. He saw a bright light and then the image changed - it was Liam's grave. His in-laws didn't even wait to for him to bury his own husband. "Da I just had a flash of memory. It's Liam's birthday today. I miss him so much!" He let the dam burst and the tears attempted to wash the pain away.

"Are the headaches back as well? Ah baby, just take deep breaths, and exhale. Please sweetie, don't cry like this, not when I can't be there. Sean, please don't harm your self anymore! Sean! You still have me. I'm not giving up on you!" His father shouted out of frustration.

That sobered him back to reality. "I'm sorry Da, I had a bad night. I'll go to work and straighten this mess up. I didn't mean any harm. I would love to see you, but tomorrow is review day, and I will be out late tonight. So maybe the next day, which is Friday. Is that good? We could spend the weekend together. How is that?" He breathed out and eased himself into his comfort zone. He shut the kettle off and made the tea.

"Oh Sean, that would be grand! I can stay at your place. It would be like when you would come home from school, popcorn and a movie night. How about we do a _Godfather _marathon? Well we can decide that later. I won't keep you any longer. Get yourself to work. If you need to talk, I'll be here. See you around noon on Friday. I love you son, you know this right?"

Sean hugged the phone as if it was his Da. "I know, Da, I love you too." Trying not to sound like his heart was breaking he said, "I'll see you Friday. Tell Mum that I love her. Both of you be well." He knew that his mother wouldn't return the love.

"You be safe my son." The dead air told him his Da had ended the call.

He sighed, drank his tea and readied himself for work. It was going to be a long day.

Around 11:00am Jack rounded the corner to the building of the office of Doctor Knowlens. He felt a little like a scared kid. He had heard good things about the man. That he was a fantastic psychiatrist. The source from which he got his information was impeccable. So he knew that he was the one for him. The thing that puzzled Jack was how did one begin to tell a tale like his and not sound nuts? But he needed something right now and that was for someone just to listen. From what he gathered, Sean Knowlens was just such a man.

Entering the office, his secretary wouldn't listen to Jack as he asked to see the doctor. She insisted he was not in. But then a young woman in her early twenties came in and went straight in to his office with a nod from the rather heavy set woman he was trying to talk to, he was getting a little ticked off.

"Listen, miss…" He looked at her desk plate. "Norma Camden, I just want to become a patient of his. So if you have a form and need to do a background check, then I would like to get this moving so I can get 'better'. Do you understand me?" He flashed his teeth and batted his eyes at her. She was not impressed.

"Mr.…?" She waved her hand at him to fill in the blanks.

"Um, Harper, James Harper." He didn't want Jack Harkness to show up on any records or files. Judging from what he gathered upon from his return. This was not the same trusting world that it used to be. And Torchwood was advertising on buses. And after the 456 incident, he really didn't think Jack Harkness was well liked anymore. He would sort all that out as soon as he was back to being what ever he was before… he couldn't think his name. And also before… that name was equally as painful.

"Mr. Harper, Doctor Knowlens works for the State, they decide on his patients. What did you do, just drop in out of the sky? You have to be approved by the Government for his services. He deals only with post 456 syndrome. So unless you have been diagnosed with it, you can't see him. So go and get a check up and if he is the right doctor for you then the State, in their wisdom will assign him to you. So, Mr. Harper, good day!" She returned to her monitor and ignored him.

"Well, I guess I have been away a long time. Thank you Miss Camden. Have a great day." She didn't look up as he exited in defeat.

The next course of action was to find out exactly what kind of world he came back to. He knew it was different but this was a bit out of control. Jack was saddened to think that his leaving may have been the reason for the insanity the Earth seemed to be facing. He also wondered why Torchwood was not helping more. He decided not to give up on the doctor. He didn't need any ones approval for anything. He would just watch and wait until he could talk to the man. Boy, did he feel stalkerish. He smiled as he walked to the park. With his laptop and Vortex Manipulator for power, he began to gather intelligence on the new world he returned to.

Sean didn't go home. Instead, he changed and went out to the club that was around the corner. Dressed in a black 'wife beater', as the Americans called the sleeveless t-shirt and black jeans, he strutted his way in to the club. High as the tallest building in Cardiff, he sought the one thing he hadn't had in four and a half years. Sex.

The pulsing music and the sweat of the occupants were overwhelming as the drug began to kick in. Sean's eyes dilated as his head rolled back to watch the spotlights twirl above the dance floor. He gave in, allowing the rhythm to carry him away. He felt alive again. This was the only place that the government allowed a body to be free. After all they promoted the dance clubs, and as for the drugs, a blind eye was turned for those who were obedient.

It wasn't long before he was moving with another man. His new partner was blond, he thought. He didn't care; he just liked the fact that he smelled good. It was kind of like musk and frankincense. They rubbed up and down against each other before touching hands. They clasped on to one another. Hands moved over the soft of flesh under cloth. The blond man whispered in to Sean's ear before he took his mouth in a rough vodka tasting kiss. Sean heard Liam in his head and he felt as if he tasted Liam's kiss. But why was it rough? He melted into the noise of the music and this stranger, who seemed to have gained all control over him.

It was when he was almost out of his clothes; in the alley at the back of the club that he realized it wasn't Liam who was touching him. The stranger held him tight when he began to struggle. "No I don't want this!" The world took a turn for the worst, when Sean became aware of what was going on.

"Too late for that now, don't you think? It was you who suggested this. I can't stop now, I have to have what you promised." The blond man pushed his lips into Sean's beginning to hurt him.

With repulsion that he felt for himself he collapsed as he gave in to this stranger. Sean didn't care. He was meaningless and he had no one to love him, not like Liam did. "Happy Birthday, Liam!' He said out loud.

"Who the hell is Liam?" The stranger asked as he went to undo Sean's zipper.

Sean didn't answer, he went numb as the Earth spun out of control and he couldn't stop it. As the hallucinations began, Sean began to laugh. His new partner began to touch him. He didn't feel it as much as watch it, like it was a badly acted porn flick and he was the B-rated star, and this stranger was a hack. He laughed at the man.

"What are you laughing at, you think this is funny? What the hell are you on?"

Sean just giggled, infuriating the man. "If I were you I would keep my mouth shut, unless I put something in it." The blond stated as Sean felt his hand touch something.

Sean was laughing insanely at that. "And what exactly would that be, there isn't much of anything there." The crack to the jaw hurt.

"I said shut up!" The guy swung again, his hand never reached its target. It was gently pulled back to the man's side. There in between Sean and his almost trick was a rather handsome man. "Who the hell are you?" The blond guy asked.

"His boyfriend, now you can leave." Jack flashed him a menacing glare. He suddenly seemed unearthly, almost demon-like to the rather terrified attacker.

"Oh sorry, sir, I didn't know he was with anyone. You should keep an eye on him. Here is his shirt. Have a good night." The guy faltered and ran.

Jack chuckled and turned to Sean. Sean punched Jack hard. Stunned, Jack watched Sean retrieve his shirt and walk away. He shook his head and disbelief. "Wait did I miss something here?" He went after Sean who had quickened his pace as he headed for the main road. "Hey what the hell was that for? I just rescued you!"

Putting on his shirt he said. "Didn't need it, thanks, I didn't want it." He turned catching a flash of a man in a military coat before him, but this guy was wearing a denim jacket and blue jeans. The shoes were the same though. "You were at the peer the other night!" Sean moved closer to Jack. "It was you, wasn't it? Are you following me?" Sean wanted to run, but something in the man's eyes, some deeper pain made him want to listen. "What do you want from me?" The drug began to wear off.

"I know this is going to sound insane. But you were highly recommended by a friend of mine. You saw him about 6 years ago, when he lost his girlfriend. He said you were compassionate and not judgmental. Well he is, well… he would want me to tell my tale to you. I feel that you would understand and help me understand myself. I can't go through the proper channels; I might not be welcomed to the system, if you get my meaning." He winked at Sean who just stood there and stared at the rather handsome man.

"Wow, I don't know what to say. You might just be some madman, but something is telling me that you are sincere. Why does this feel like it is a beginning to that book, what was it called again?" Sean racked his brain to come up with the answer.

"So does that mean you will help me doc?" Jack looked hopeful.

"Outside the government means it will have to be someplace besides my office. My home would be good." He tilted his head to get a better look at Jack. "What is you name? And is Monday okay?"

Jack face lit up in a big smile and a glimmer of hope escaped from his sad eyes. "Yes, Monday fine, 7:00pm okay? And it is Jack, let's leave it at that for now."

"Fair enough, Jack," Sean said as he moved closer and extended his hand. The warmth of the touch ran through both of them. Sean let go and moved away. "Oh and thank you for helping back there, I mean it. Or God that is it, the book! Interview With a Vampire! Well you don't seem undead and immortal. Well, here is my card. I'll see you at 7. Call me if you can't make it." Sean realized he just through caution out the window and invited a complete strange to his apartment.

Jack took the card and turned to walk away. "Oh by the way, you're close, I my not be undead, but I am immortal." He left Sean standing there with his mouth hanging open.

End Chapter 2 TBC


	3. Chapter 3

The darkness of the night covered Jack as he left Sean with the word _Immortal_ in his mind. Shaking himself free of the shock in the honesty of Jack's statement as well as the remaining effect of the drug, he turned to leave for home. This night he slept without dreams.

Jack, on the other hand, went back to his makeshift home alone, but with a smug smile of satisfaction that he was indeed at a new beginning. He opened the door of his tiny loft apartment, he was able to get after he had freed up some of his assets. He could have afforded better, but he decided not to make waves. Besides his new identity, Marvin Talbert, didn't seem the type to live the high life. Also he didn't want any red flags to fly in his direction. It was hard enough get around the security in the databases; he didn't need trouble, not yet anyway. He was still trying to piece together the 1984 life he came back to. He has been in oppressive societies but this was ridiculous.

It tugged at his heart. He didn't want to believe that by leaving he had somehow played a bigger part in the misery that Earth was now facing after the 456 were stopped. If he had stayed, would he have been able to stop the madness that was around him? Maybe he would have been able to help ease things back to normal. But he couldn't do that. Not like he was, not at that moment in time.

Steven's face showed itself in his mind's eye. Ianto's 'I love you,' rang in his ears every time he thought of him. Gwen's pleading eyes asking him not to leave broke his heart. All three of these events had made it impossible to stay. It was ironic that all three now bought him back, made him want to come, dare he call it, home.

After all, it was his home. He fought to save and protect it so many times. And all that he loved, for the most part, the ones that mattered, were resting here, on this blue planet, a place like no other in the entire universe.

Jack hated being in a sad state like this. His frowning face and hard-set eyes were showing the pain that still remained in his heart. Who was he kidding; it would always be there. But sometimes it would lighten. But his home was endangered again. That is why he came back. It was this sixth sense he had developed after falling in love with the human race on a new level. He owed that one to the Doctor. The most non-human of them all, showing a human what it was all about. His thoughts wandered to the man who made him remember love. That strange person that allowed him the privilege to love someone like Ianto Jones and made all the difference in an immortal's life.

"I owe it all to you!" He raised a glass in a toast to the Time Lord.

He put the glass down and began to research Dr. Knowlens a little closer. Something had changed with the man. He was not the person that Ianto said he was. Jack just saw a confused individual that seemed to be fighting his own demons for most of the time. He observed all of this in his brief encounter with the young doctor. Jack's other nature found the young man very attractive as well. Sean didn't need to behave the way he did tonight. The way he looked, they should be flocking to him.

Jack shook his head. He turned on the laptop, put his headphones on and began to look into the life and times of Dr. Sean Knowlens.

Sean woke up with the alarm for a change. He jumped out of bed and stretched. Whistling a tune, he went to the bathroom to take care of his full bladder. He then jumped in the shower. Still whistling he washed the remainder of previous night away. Any unpleasantness swirled down the drain with the dirty soap and water. He left the shower even more refreshed then when he woke up from the most pleasant sleep he had in years.

The teapot screamed its song at him as Sean returned with the newspaper. There was more horrid news about the unrest in East London. The police were called in and the mob put down. Cardiff had a bunch of buildings burned because of some protesters. The rest of the world was fairing no better. A frown appeared on Sean's soft face. He didn't want to know what was going on in the world right now.

Sean folded the paper up and was about to throw it out when something caught his eye. On the back was an advertisement for the Torchwood Institute, _Serving the public since before you were born_. He was amused with the last statement. What was it, a joke?

The description in the ad was vague. _We fight things that go bump in the night._

_If you have encountered any strange or unusual persons please contact us immediately. We are here to help with public safety_.

Why did his thoughts go to Jack? Was he really immortal or just a nut case? He ripped the advertisement out and stuck it into the drawer. He didn't know why he did it. But just in case, he could ask them about his new patient. If Jack bothered to showed up. Some how that wasn't how Sean saw it. He knew this stranger would show. He let out a smile and suddenly was very hungry.

"I guess I'm due for a big breakfast. Maybe I will get something for Norma on the way in. That will freak her out," he said to himself. Still whistling, he grabbed his coat and left for the office.

Norma nearly fainted when her boss walked in with coffee and a pastry for her. "Sir, are you okay?" She asked.

Her boss smiled. "Let me know when you wanted to start the reviews. I don't want to keep you to late today. Did you say you had you daughter this weekend? Well, tell you what, my Da is coming early tomorrow, so why don't you take the day off? I can handle the morning. I think that I only have one client after that, right?"

She wondered who this organized man was in front of her. She didn't think that he remembered anything. He never knew his own schedule. And if he showed up for the appointments, he was more than likely to not want to see them any way. Her boss was a mess of a human being, and that was on a good day. Who this person was, bringing in food and offering pleasantries, she wasn't sure. But she prayed that the handsome man that was normally in so much pain would stay happy.

"Yes sir, Mrs. Alberta, she is the last in tomorrow at one. Sir, if I may say something?"

He smiled widely at her and nodded. "Of course Norma, anything."

"I just want to know why you are so, well, why you seem so happy? I'm just not used to this; out of the three years I've worked for you there has never been a smile on your face before. What gives?" She looked at the doctor before her with wide eyes. She saw a very attractive young man all of the sudden. Brown hair and hazel eyes, he seemed so young, but there was still a fine line of hurt that still circled him. He seem be heading in a good direction today. But why was this happening?

He laughed outright. Throwing his head back, he closed his eyes; "I met someone in a kind of Dickens moment last night, if that makes some kind sense to you. He was very magnetic. Anyway, let's just say one moment of compassion can mean a lot. Even in this world." He seemed to lose himself for a moment. When he returned to the here and now it was Norma's turn to smile.

"Well sir, I hope it works out for you. It has been along time since you've had a 'friend.'" She tried to defuse the comment with a smile. Suddenly, she felt ashamed at her forwardness. Blushing, she tried not to look at her employer.

If he was mad, Sean didn't show it. He walked over to his secretary and touched her shoulder. "Thank you, I have been alone for a long time. But it isn't like that; at least I don't think it will be. He is stunning, though. But that is not what this is. Understand?"

She giggled at his shyness in his description of his 'friend.' It was the first time she felt him reach out to someone, namely her. He was always somewhere else. Now she felt she could like him, where before he was just a name on a paycheck. The paycheck she was always afraid of losing if he was defaulted on his State contract. Recently, it had been too close to that reality actually happening. Maybe now there was a chance to keep this job. She had too many things to consider if she lost it.

"Yes sir, I understand. I'll just meet you in your office in 10 minutes, is that okay?"

"Only if you drop the sir. You can call me Sean." He flashed his teeth at her and turned to disappear into his office.

"Yes Sean, I'll see you in a bit." She was glad for a change that she had come into work. It was going to be a good day.

Inside his office, Sean reached for the phone. He touched the keypad selecting his Da's number and waited for him to pick up. The whistling continued.

"Hello, Sean? Are you okay?" Mr. Knowlens concerned was heard in his voice.

"Yeah it's me. I just wanted to let you know something about tomorrow." He laughed a little at his Da's reaction to the phone call. It was because he never called his Da. His poor father must have thought the worst.

The silence on the other end was deafening. "I understand, maybe next time." He could hear the disappointment on the other end.

"Da, wait! I'm not cancelling; I just want to say go right to my place. You have a key. I'll be home by two. I have a quick session at one and I was thinking of cooking for us. Let's do this visit right. I just want to spend just want as much time with you as I can. Why don't you bring the movie and the beer? I'll have the popcorn. Not much of a movie without it. Oh and this might seem childish, but I have sleeping bags, so we could sleep on the floor and pretend we are camping, like we use to. How's that?" He was brimming with anticipation.

"Sean, are you high? What is it my son?"

The tone in his father's voice broke the son's heart. "Da I'm, I just, I woke up happy. I'm really happy. I feel great." Tears of joy filled his eyes, it was like ice melting. He suddenly giggled at the thought that he was the Grinch that stole Christmas, and his heart began to grow.

"Oh Sean, I don't know what to say. I'll be at your place and then you can tell me all about it. He must be someone special." His father still had a worry tone in his voice.

"What makes you say that?" Sean's eyes widened at the comment.

"It is the same lilt in you voice you had the day you met Liam at the hospital and the day he asked you to marry him." He hoped that was it, the alternative was that Sean was going to end his life. His father read some Sean's schoolbooks after he first tried to take his life. The calm before, the peace of mind and tying up loose ends was a sign. 'Please,' he begged silently. 'Let me be right about him meeting someone. I couldn't stand him leaving me.'

"I have met someone, but he is just a friend. Da, I have to go, I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Safe trip, I love you so," he smiled. His Da was afraid, he could tell. In a way so was Sean.

"I love you too, son. Be well." The phone was quiet as his father hung up the phone.

Sean put the phone down just in time for Norma's arrival. He smiled at her and thought of an immortal man name Jack, who was changing his life. Was he even aware of that?

End Chapter 3 TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Friday at work halted with his last session ending on a happy note. As Sean said goodbye to Mrs. Alberta, she smiled and thanked him.

"I think today we had a very good talk, Dr. Knowlens. Thank you. And may I say whatever has made you so pleasant today that I hope it stays with you a long time. You are too young to not be this way." She smiled at him for the first time in the three years she had been coming to him.

He could help but return her smile. "You can call me Sean, I think we know each other well enough for that, Doris." He handed her a piece of chocolate. She took it gladly.

"With all this doom and gloom lately, I was beginning to think that none of us would ever warm up to the world and each other again. I hope your warmth is contagious, Dr… Sean. I'll see you next week then; I'm going to spread some of this around, especially to my husband!" The 54-year-old housewife, mother of two said as she winked at him.

He blushed. It seemed all of his patients were leaving his office in incredibly good moods today. Maybe it was a sign of the times changing. Maybe he was just on this amazing natural high, all over an immortal stranger. _Jack, who are you, that you have me so excited just at the prospect of talking with you?_ He asked himself. He walked Doris to the door and told her to be safe and have a fantastic weekend.

"Try to contain yourself with your husband. You don't want him to think you're going mad." He waved as she giggled and danced to the car. Sean shook his head and went inside to lock up. He had promised Norma that he would leave the place spotless, so he did just that before he left.

His mood was infectious as he went to the stores to gather what he needed for dinner. It took five different places to find the ingredients for a spaghetti dinner with meatballs and garlic bread, some mineral water and custard (his Da's favorite) for desert. And coffee, his Da loved coffee.

In the last four years international trade had basically died. Frankly, after what had happened with the 456, no one trusted the UK. The international community felt betrayed by the country that everyone thought was one of the good guys. If anything, the 456 existence was something everyone would have assumed the Americans would have hid from the world. But it wasn't. So most of the world stopped a lot of their trading and went into a period of isolationism. It was a sad time for the world. Each country was licking its wounds as they tried to redefine whom their allies and friends were in the world's new community.

The outcome of all this was that food was limited. So many fled the cities trying to return to the simple life of farming and bartering. It worked somehow, but at least one family member had to work in the cities. It was the law, and the State and Queen requested their service. They were paid and they got benefits of extra rations. Food was one of the perks to the employees working in the city.

It took a little while for the food to dwindle away in the big box retailers and the warehouses. But eventually the country just ran out. What was imported from other countries came in small amounts and would cost an arm and a leg. Sean had some extra money, simply because he didn't buy much anymore. So he treated his dad to a very pricey pasta dinner. He even was able to get some fresh veggies and fruit from a farmers' market. Despite the heartache in getting the stuff needed to grow the food, the farmers were producing the best looking fruits and veggies that Sean ever saw. He was glad to pay the hefty sum, and thanked the young guy and his old dad for their efforts in providing for best look oranges and eggs he ever saw.

The old farmer commented as he left. "Those "pill hoppers" are starting earlier and earlier lately, at least they could wait until dark and let the decent folk get home." Sean giggled at the comment and just kept smiling all the way home.

When he arrived at his apartment, he could hear the classical radio station playing. His Da was there. He barely got the bags to the table as he grabbed his Da in a long hug. Father and son held on tight to one another.

"Well I haven't had a greeting like that since, well you know," Sean's Da said. "Let me look at you. You're smiling! I haven't seen you smile like that in awhile."

"I know. I just feel like dancing or something. I don't know what is going on with me. Norma was in shock and my patients didn't know if it was a joke or not. They kept looking at the calendar." He laughed as his Da watched his precious son put the stuff on the table. "Ta da! Coffee!" He presented it to his Da, who began looking for the pot.

"My, I feel like a king! Sean, is this all for just us? What are you feeding an army? This is an awful lot of food." His father looked at the thin man that was his son who kept whistling and he shook his head. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen him that happy.

"We can eat in all weekend then. Some of it is for Monday. I have a guest coming over." Sean blushed as his father raised his eyebrows.

"Oh Sean, I couldn't be happier for you!" He hugged his son and then plugged the coffee pot in and flicked on. Tears dampened the rims of his glasses. "Bless this day, my boy is happy again."

"Da!!! It isn't like that! I just met him, not sure if he is the reason that I feel this way." He began the cut up the vegetables for dinner. "But it does feel good to be happy again!" He smiled as he prepared the meal, his father joining in.

"Ah but it is good to see you happy, I don't care why as long as it stays for awhile." Father and son uncannily had the same smile as they worked side by side.

Jack was getting fed up with the way of this new world he found himself in. First the pizza arrived three hours late and second, there was no real meat to be had on the meat feast pie. It was some synthetic crap that tasted like it was old before he was born.

He picked at it and threw it back in the box, with the thought that some revolutions had started over such small things like this. Pizza was a big one. Badly made pizza was enough to topple any government. He laughed as the image of protest being controlled by the police who didn't want the angry mob of ham and pineapple pizza shippers to riot. After all what if they decided to add peaches to the pie? He giggled and took another sip of wine, wondering whatever happened to the Sixties.

And when the hell did he become a wine drinker? Ever since he got back he had been at the wine. "I guess like a fine wine, I become more robust with age. I become flavorful. I become full body and go well with fish and chicken." He laughed out loud at his own silliness. "And I'm talking to myself again. Good thing I have a date with a shrink!" He put the glass down, and threw the pizza in the garbage. Then he worked the stiffness out of his body for a bit.

He needed to walk around the apartment while the Beach Boys blared. He wished he still had his MP3 player but he lost it playing Hedeen poker with a wonderful woman from Mandain. She was so yellow that she glowed. He lost a little more then the MP3 player that night, but it only dulled the pain for a moment.

He picked the wine glass up and took a swig. "And another issue with wine. It makes you remember the ones that you love. Ianto if you were still here, I would tell you to never drink wine on an empty stomach. You tend to get tipsy. Am I tipsy? No way. La, la, la, I'm tipsy. Hey World!!" He screamed. "The immortal fuck up Jack Harkness is tipsy!" He laughed as he danced around the apartment making noises and knocking a lamp or two over.

There was a loud banging on the ceiling then at the wall to the right, then the one to the left. "Oh know I angered the gods again. Shush… I have to be very, very quiet, I'm looking for information on a psychiatrist." He giggled some more.

"Will you shut the fuck up in there; some of us have to work!" A voice cried

"Ditto! We need to sleep," a voice came from beyond the other wall.

A dog barked and a baby started to cry.

"Shit!" He lowered the music. "Sorry neighbors, I had a bit of a rough time." He grinned at nothing. Closing his eyes, he imagined they were forgiving him. Maybe they would come over for a little drink. He began to giggle.

"Just shut up!" The first voice shouted. So much for creative visualization, Jack thought as he returned to Sean's information page on the State department website.

_Dr. Sean Knowlens _

_Born 9__th__ March 1981 _

_Age 32. _

_Father: Peter_

_Mother: Elizabeth Ryan_

_Sister: Helen 12 December 1979_

_Brother: Paul 15 June 1977_

It began to list a bit of information about the schools he went to. It also talked about an award he won, which was for some of the papers he published, the as well as lectures he had done. It all came to a stop after the middle of the year in 2008 when he was accused of killing his partner, a Dr. Liam Eckerson, in a DUI. The incident was considered only an accident, but Sean lost his personal practice and was assigned to the State, where he had worked ever since, now only counseling 456 syndrome patients.

_Dr Liam Eckerson: File access denied._

"Now this is strange!" Jack thought. He typed in some more codes that might help him hack into Liam's file. Nothing short of a warning signal came through. He quickly shut down the computer. "Damn, I have to get another laptop now; they will more than likely be looking for that IP address. Time to get a new one. I can't use you anymore. And who are _they_ this time?" The puzzle was getting more complex.

From what he had seen of Sean, he didn't seem like the type to murder someone, even by accident. And not someone he loved. What was the name he said in the alleyway while that guy was attacking him? Jack didn't want to think about that. It wasn't lovemaking. It wasn't even sex. It was dark and wrong. It was like Sean was someone else. "Liam. He said Happy Birthday, Liam!" Jack tugged at his chin while he thought.

All the food gone and piles of dishes later, their beers polished off, Peter and his son Sean were laughing at a movie called "Clerks". It was an old American film about the life at the Jersey store and these convenient store clerks. Peter threw popcorn at his son; Sean tossed it back as they laughed at the film.

"What made you pick that, Da?" Sean mumbled as he shoved that last of the popcorn in his mouth.

"Son, are you sure you are all right? You haven't stopped eating." His Da teased him. He was happy that his son was really eating. Sean stopped eating a few months after he met Liam. Liam, overwrought with worry, had called Peter up to ask if his son had a 'condition'.

None of the doctors' tests had found anything wrong. There was no parasite or fungus. Nothing. They said it was probably a symptom of being in a new situation. Sean became skinnier, but stayed healthy. Years later, at Liam and Sean's wedding, he was still not gaining weight. His mother began to despise Liam, thinking he was the cause of her son's emaciated look. Liam denied it and told her that at least he wasn't a fat sow like her. She didn't go to the ceremony. Sean cried the next day when they went on their honeymoon. His mother never spoke to him again. Not that she cared to begin with. His siblings were indifferent to their brother.

Peter was glad his son was feeling lively again and eating. Whoever this stranger was, he prayed he would bring his son some kind of hope and comfort. Sean should have someone who loved him. And like a true son, Sean was evading any conversation that had to do with this stranger.

"Really Da, where did you get the movie?" Grabbing a few chips and another beer, Sean stretched out on his sleeping bag and looked at the ceiling. "I haven't had any nightmares dad. Not since I met him." He began to explain his experience with the immortal. "I woke up the next day hungry. I think it is more sexual frustration. I haven't been with anyone since Liam died, Da. I went out looking for it and I was rather wired. I think that I was asking for it, I needed someone to celebrate Liam's birthday with. I came so close to just letting go, Da. Just wanted to be free and not care who was touching me." He blinked away the moment of sadness and glanced at his Da. Peter as always listened intently to his youngest child.

"Like some old style hero he was there, in the middle of my struggle between right and wrong. I don't know why he was there. I later found out that he was looking for me." He saw his Da's eyes widen at the last part. "He isn't a professional stalker Da, not that type." He clarified to Peter that he wasn't in danger. "He was looking for a doctor. I helped a friend of his. Look, I don't know where this is going. I just met him. But he helped me realize that I have to let go of Liam, a little bit at a time, but it has to be done. Also, he's damn fine." A pillow was aimed at his head.

"That is for scaring me!" Peter gauged his son's shocked expression before continuing. Yawning, he stated. "Sean my heart, you are the world to me. When you were born, something tugged at those heartstrings. You have to understand, that I want you to be free. But this man, you don't know him, yet he is already seeking residence inside you. Whether you realize it or not, you're smitten with him, but please go-slow. Find out what kind of help he needs, before you commit to this. Okay?" He sat up to get a better look at his son.

"Da," Sean couldn't say what the secret was, and why he believed Jack. It was in his eyes, that way he looked beyond, like he was nowhere yet everywhere. Something that made Jack appear human but yet not at the same time. The hurt of so much lost that Jack tried to cover up with his smile had convinced Sean that Jack was real. So much had happened in Sean's lifetime, that an immortal man walking up to a doctor in need of therapy didn't seem that unrealistic when it happened.

"It's okay, Sean my son, I trust you to make up your own mind. I won't bring up Superman again." The double shot of pillows crashed into Pete's head. "And for that, I keep the pillows. Now let's get some sleep. I want to take you that old movie theater sometime. You know the one that still shows the silent films."

End Chapter 4 TBC


	5. Chapter 5

_Monday, 7:00pm - Sean's Apartment._

Jack gained access to Sean's building by simply walking up to the doorman and stating his name was Jack. He didn't expect Sean's address to be written on the back of the card either. It was starting to feel like the pieces of a puzzle were coming together indeed. He went to the fifth floor looking for apartment 323 and there is was, music emanating from the door and a note that simply said:

_Jack,_

_I am cooking. The door is open. Come on in._

_Sean_

This overwhelmed Jack and if he had known it was a possible "date," he would have bought the wine. "Wait a second," he thought, "I didn't give him the wrong impression, did I?" He thought on this for a moment. Inhaling the aroma of what could only be real home cooking, he gave into temptation and entered the apartment, committed to the task on hand. Making sure that someone was aware of who he was and why he did what he did.

The door creaked a little as he peered into its opening. The place was bright with lots of windows and it smelled of amazing spices and a touch of almond and vanilla. He breathed in the aroma and listened to the music of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind"

wafted through the air. He liked Dylan. He had met Dylan when he was in London in the Sixties. Before he was the deliver of the children that started the end of the world. He wondered if smoking weed was like getting high off of pure innocence. Steven's convulsing body crept in to his mind's eye. He wondered if that would ever stop hurting. For him it has been longer then 4 years. But the boy's face as he let go of his life, unaware that his Uncle Jack was his grandfather and the one that claimed his mortality, remained engraved in his soul. If there was a hell, that was it, the look in a boys dieing eyes.

Sean's voice singing in the other room bought him back to reality. He seemed to be able to harmonize with the master Dylan, but he was also able to capture the soul of the song. Jack stood in the door of the kitchen watching the movements and actions of the young doctor as he worked out the tune with the meal as well. He was awestruck.

Sean whirled around to see Jack standing there. He should have been embarrassed as he was caught in the act of a happy moment. Instead he wiped his hands on his apron. Oh yes, an apron and extended his hand to Jack. "Welcome to my home! I hope you are hungry. Do Immortals eat?" He teased.

Jack blinked and grinned. "Yes, if we are invited to a home cooked meal that smells like heaven, we do," he replied, not missing a beat. He was greatly beginning to like Sean a lot.

"Good, I hope you don't mind I just had to eat and I figured that you would be hungry, too. I can't go out to the restaurants. All the food is chemical based and the fresh stuff costs a nice penny. But I have some money stashed away. My Da was here this weekend and I over bought, so I figured…I'm sorry I'm rambling. I do that when I'm in a good mood. Liam used to say that I was like a big kid." He paused for a moment and let the statement slide.

As did Jack. He was quickly at the ready with his charm and asked Sean. "I smell something wonderful, what are we having?" Bright as a polished button was his smile.

Sean gazed for an undefined moment at the Immortal's mouth. "It is really nothing." He looked away and went back to the frying pan. "Just chicken and peas in a crepe with cream sauce and fresh spinach with toasted almonds with garlic and butter. I have some strawberries with whip cream for desert."

He could hear Jack's stomach growl. He stifled the giggle that appeared out of nowhere.

"That is nothing, ever since I got back it has been plastic pizza and indefinable take out. I disagree, that is something." He let out a small nervous laugh. He never behaved like this, not in a long while. Not since he was with a certain Welshman. Why now did he feel this way?

"Do you need any help?" Jack noticed the table wasn't set. He was going to ask if Sean wanted to eat at the kitchen table or the dining room table with the wonderful view of the Bay. Suddenly, he felt very awkward.

Sean could sense the uncomfortable mood his guest was in. He had been around enough people and had studied different emotional reactions of people to know that he may have gone too far. What must Jack be thinking? Sean decided that asking Jack to help might be his way of relaxing the situation.

"If you could set the table that would be great, the dining room would be nice, it has the better view. Oh, and you can pick the wine if you want. Or there is beer as well." He went back to sautéing the spinach. It flipped out of the pan in several professional like twists and landed back into the pan. He added a little salt and a pinch of dill.

Jack blinked and walked to the wine rack. There were many choices, too many for the state of affairs the country was in. Sean noticed Jack's hesitation. "Oh they are pre 456, perfectly legal." He smiled at Jack and went back to the chicken.

"Okay then, How about an Australian wine?"

"My favorite. I know what you are thinking, not very professional, but this isn't my office. So I figured that it would be easier on the both of us if it were more of a "getting to know you" thing then a shrink thing. Do you think it is a good idea?" His face was beautiful as it shone with a hopeful smile that his idea was indeed the right one.

Smiling, Jack reached for the corkscrew, "I think it is very original. I can't seem to find fault in it." He eased the bottle open and let it breathe on the table as he began to set it.

The table reflected the meal. Both were beautifully flexed in their setting. Jack inhaled his plate briefly as his nose twitched in the delight of a real meal. "Sean, this smells amazing. Thank you!" He took a mouthful. Sean watched him shovel the food in his mouth. Before long he was having a race with Jack. Both were eating as if they were starving. There would be nothing to sit in the leftover containers that day.

Stuffed and satisfied, they exited the dining room to relax in the living room. Sean put on some coffee and sat across from Jack. Pad in hand; he waited for Jack to start.

The ill relaxed form of the Immortal placed his shell of a body on the couch and looked nervous. He rubbed the palms of his hands up and down the tops of legs as he tried to ease the tension out of his body. He smiled weakly at Sean who was sitting opposite. Crossing his long legs, Sean began to write.

"You write long hand still?" Jack inquired at the young man.

"Yes, it helps me to analyze the patient's thoughts better. Besides, I didn't think you would want this taped." He looked away from Jack with the slightest of red tint to his cheek. If he thought the Captain wouldn't notice, he was wrong.

The Stranglers "Midnight Summer Dream" was playing. How appropriate, Sean thought. Was Jack about to make that type of impact on Sean Knowlens life? Sean realized if this man were just another nut job, he would pack his bags and surrender his practice and retire. It might be good to tend gardens and wear a big stupid hat and talk to cats all day. He was getting tired of city life any way.

Jack studied the younger man doodling on the pad propped on his knee, twirling is longish brown hair with his left hand and as he made a few notes. Jack realized that though he didn't like long hair on men, Sean was fast becoming the exception. He was very attractive in a scholarly kind of way. Not bookish, just intelligent. It was while he turned his hand in playing with his hair that Jack saw the scar on his wrist. With a brief shutting of his eyes, he decided to file the question of why for later. He would need to know Sean a little better before he was let in to the doctor's life.

"I'm going to begin with a few questions," Sean began. "If you don't wish to answer any of them, that is fine. I won't press you for anything you are not willing to give me." He raised his eyes and became aware of the intense stare of his patient. He looked away because Jack's eyes were extremely beautiful and full of sadness. It is a heart breaking sadness, which comes with ages of being in emotional distress and full of deep sorrow. His doctor eyes told him that. He saw it once before in a man who suffered a lot in a war. He blew his brains out. Jack, he thought didn't have that option.

"When was the last time you were in love with someone?" It was simple enough.

Jack exhaled and with downcast eyes replied. "For me it was 200 years ago. For him, he has been dead for four."

If Sean seemed shocked he didn't show it. Ianto was right; this man was unreadable while he was working. He waited for the pen to stop moving.

"Have you any children, how many and with many partners or just one?" Sean kept writing

"A daughter that I know of in this timeline. And others I'm sure of here and there. Maybe one or two here that I don't know about." He felt his heart twist just a little at the thought.

Still writing, Sea continued. "Do you find honesty to be the best policy?"

He hesitated. How do you answer that one honestly? He knew that he was never honest all the time. He also knew that he hated liars. But that meant he hated himself. Jack knew that.

" I hate liars."

Sean stopped writing and looked at Jack. He was all sharpness in his gaze, like he was search for something. Tilting his head, he asked.

"So you like honest people?"

"I don't know how to answer that." More notes were jotted down. "Hey wait, it is just I can't seem to come up with the right answer." When the pen didn't stop moving, he ran his hand through his hair. "Wait. I'm not very honest, least of all to myself. Call it my old con man ways. They don't die as fast as they should." Jack saw the pen stop.

"Con man?" There it was. Immortal made sense. It was like the Sting, to live forever as the perfect con man. Sean looked angry. "You had me going. Did you hope to gain something? Maybe con me into buying your story? God I am an idiot!" His vision blurred as the high he was on the last few days crashed to the bottom. "Get out!"

Jack looked confused, and very upset. "No wait! Sean, it isn't like that not with you. That was the way I was once. I would never think of doing that to you. Dr Knowlens please; Ianto said you were good and kind. He said I should talk to you, way back when, before… Please I'm really am just nothing right now. I'll be that forever." He broke down and released all the tears he thought had left the day he ran from Gwen, from himself, from everything.

Sean just sat there, not know what to do. The anger began to fade, as he watches Jack wrap his arms around his sides and rock back and forth sobbing. He didn't know what swayed him, but the look on that lost confused man moved Sean out of the doctor's chair and in to the seat of a friend.

End Chapter 5 TBC


	6. Chapter 6

To hold someone after you make love is one thing. To comfort a friend in distress is another. To hold a stranger as he cries his heart out in your arms made Sean break. He never held anyone like this. In this manner, it was so warm, yet so alone in sorrow. This man was broken. This man was alone. This man despised himself. Sean was not about to let go as he reached for him.

Jack fell into the arms of the stranger so easily. With not even an uncomfortable thought, he let go. He it owed to all of them; he was in pain because he let everyone down. Sean was unaware of any of it. So until he got the story and turned his back on him, Jack could cry in a stranger's arms. He could be that broken soul, for just a little while.

Sean didn't let go he just cradled the Immortal in his arms. He knew Jack was telling him the truth. Something in the man's pleas had opened his eyes to the ages of life Jack had lived. He just couldn't see it any other way. In his mind, Jack was the real thing. And as a doctor he could help. As a potential friend he could comfort him.

Kissing the top of his head in kindness, Sean spoke. "I'll help you. I won't abandon you, whatever you want to tell me, however you want to start this, I'll listen. We will fix this together." Jack grabbed the younger man tighter. He let all the pain out in the arms of a stranger. But yet he felt so real, more then anyone he ever called friend or lover, except Ianto. He sighed "Ianto" out loud.

Sean took it as a place to begin. "Jack, just tell me no if you don't want to speak right now. Was Ianto your lover, the one that died four years ago?" He shut his eyes as he felt the Immortal nod.

The tears and shaking increased.

"Just let it go. It's okay, I will just hold you, when you are ready to talk, I'll be here." He thought of Liam and tried to stop his own tears from falling. A few slipped down his cheeks and landed with a splash on Jack's hair. If Jack noticed, which Sean tended to doubt, he didn't say anything. The sun had set for them. It was too late to stop this from happening.

The smell of brewing coffee entered the room; Jack spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "He made the best coffee; it was something very unique to him. I often wondered if Ianto drugged it at first, so we didn't know about Lisa. He kept to himself, well mainly. I think I may have misinterpreted some of his actions. If I had known she wasn't dead yet. Maybe, just maybe, we could have helped her. There were times when I knew he held it against me, even when we were intimate. Even after we became close, closer then friends." He shuddered and nestled his head in closer to Sean's chest. The warm feeling surged through the younger man's body. He suddenly felt like he was needed again.

He realized this was not a good place for anyone to be in. What Jack was saying was confusing him. But he didn't want to push it. Why would Ianto not tell Jack that his girlfriend was still alive? This wasn't adding up. He decided that despite personal curiosity he would let Jack tell him when he was ready. So much was already happening during this session. It was important to get Jack back to a place where he could just speak.

Sean shifted a bit, which made Jack sit up and look into his eyes. It happened suddenly, without conscious thought. It ran deep and filled up an empty spot. As soon as the kiss started, Sean knew that is was wrong. But it felt so good at the same time. Jack's mouth was warm and tasted spicy. He moved his lips over Sean's and sought out the soft places inside his mouth. Sean was slow in the response as if he was somewhere else. But he wasn't. He was on the couch of his place with a God. Well with someone that could be thought of as a god. He was feeling dizzy with each tender moment that the kiss lasted. If this didn't stop…

"Jack stop please, you don't mean this." Sean gently pushed Jack away. Jack was staring at Sean.

As if he understood, he nodded moving a safe distant from the young doctor. "Sorry, I just - sometimes it helps. I just needed to connect like that." He held his head down, not wanting to see the disapproval in his doctor's face. Sometimes he just kept making the wrong move, like his timing was off.

Sean stood up; hoping to God his excited state wasn't visible. "It is okay, you had an emotional moment, and you reached for a warm body. That is a perfectly normal response. If you had gotten angry about stopping, then I would be worried. I would have assumed that you had a hard time with the reality of it. So was I close enough a kisser to be Ianto?" Why did saying that hurt? He watched Jack carefully.

Jack just stared with his blue eyes rapidly moving, darting like a machine in calculation, evaluating or gage what Sean's reaction would be with the truth.

"It was you I thought of. It was you I was kissing. Though in an odd way, I could feel Ianto here. Does that make sense to you?" Jack licked his lips as he nervously watched the young doctor for a reaction.

Sean wanted nothing more then to hold Jack again, maybe to kiss him, share his bed with him. This was happening way too fast. This man wanted to tell his story. He wasn't going to chase a chance away to help Jack in exchange for a one-night shag. He knew it would never be just one night. He focused on Liam. He thought of Liam. He wanted to crawl into the grave with Liam. But there was Jack, warm and alive. He was watching as if waiting for Sean to make the next move.

Sean did. He walked out of the room and retrieved two cups for the coffee. He made up a quick tray with sugar, milk and the strawberries with chocolate sauce. Sitting down on the floor on the other side of the coffee table opposite Jack, he picked up a strawberry and dipped it in the chocolate and took a swig of coffee.

"Perfect sense, Jack. You still are looking for his approval for whatever reason. Here, have some please. I hate to eat alone. Besides you need your energy. Unless, you would rather stop." The last thing that Sean wanted was the Immortal to leave the room, to walk out the door and leave his life.

"No I don't want that!" Jack managed a smile. "I just want you to know that it was you I thought of. It was the way you have been towards me. It has been along time since I cried like that."

"_Jack it is okay, you did what had to be done. He is not your brother anymore." Ianto kissed Jack softly as he bought his head to rest on the well-tailored suited shoulder. _

"_Ianto, I failed him, I let go, and I didn't try hard enough to find him. Ianto, knowing what I am, what I am capable of doing, how do you put up with me?" He gazed into those eyes that seem to be so much deeper than anyone he ever loved before. _

"Because I know you, Captain. Not as a hero or a con man, or as a guy that can't die, but as a man who has a heart. You know how I know you do? You cry and feel pain like this. I will hold on to you for as long as I can."

He blinked at the sudden memory. Reaching, he took a strawberry and popped it into his mouth. He took a swig of coffee and allowed his thoughts to drift to the Welshman out of his suit and eating strawberries.

"He told me he loved me, I never told him." He took another strawberry. "I wanted to, but it never seemed like the right moment. The job got in the way." He looked up at Sean who was eating a strawberry while jotting down notes. He just stopped and watched him. He was so different from anyone; he was just altogether different.

The coffee was warming him a little; he didn't feel so shaky, just calm. He was thinking of something but he just yawned instead. "Hey, you didn't drug the coffee did you?" He laughed.

To Sean, Jack's laughter was music. "No, you are just coming down form the strain of releasing all that emotion. Tell you what, stay the night." He blushed as Jack raised his eyebrows. "No not like that! I mean you're wrecked. I have a spare room we used for guests. You could stay there. As long as you like, you just seem too tired to leave. This way we can talk a bit. Do you have a place?"

He thought of the hole he had been calling not home since he rented it. "It sucks. Don't have much invested in it. And my neighbors don't like me."

"Well, since I have the room, why don't you take it? We can get your things in the morning and I will give you a key. That seems a little strange. I just asked you to be my roommate."

"Why is it strange?" Jack asked. "You want to help and to study me, what better way than under your microscope? I'll take it." He extended his hand to Sean.

The electric touch of their hands meeting had Sean tingling. He put those thoughts away and stored them for later. Getting up, he walked into his room with the notepad. He returned with linens to make up the bed.

He signaled for Jack to follow and together they made up the bed. Sean left the room with Jack sitting on the covers. Going to the stereo system he selected a song on the player that for some reason reminded him of Jack. "Far, Far Away" by Slade started playing.

Jack wandered back into the living room to listen to the song. He understood another thing about Sean; he spoke to people through music. Not seeing Sean, Jack knocked back the rest of the coffee and cleared the plates and went to do the dishes in the kitchen. He hummed the tune as it played again. Sean was back in the living room wearing grey sweatpants that clung to his long legs and a sleeveless tee. Jack wondered how all the strength that he felt could come from that thin body.

Sean sensed Jack watching him. He smiled and entered the kitchen area. "Here, you can wear this to bed. What?" He asked as Jack lost it to the look on Sean's face.

"Never wear clothes in bed. Just don't do it. I find it restrictive." He smirked at the doctor as his mouth hung open for a brief moment.

"Well neither do I. Hope you don't mind, but I'm going to sleep. I don't have to be in until noon but there is some things I need to do. Good night Jack, hope to see you in the morning. Oh thanks for doing the dishes." He turned form the handsome roommate. "Oh if you hear me scream, it is just a bad dream. There is nothing to worry about. My Da said I only had one the last time he was here. I usually have ten. Night." He removed his shirt as he walked away, leaving Jack a little confused. Finishing the dishes he wiped down the counter and stove. Sitting down on the bed he could still hear light music coming for Sean's room. The light went out and Jack stretched out on the bed and looked at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Sean stretched out naked on his stomach as he went over his notes. Asking Jack to stay was showing a sign of trust. He also thought it would make it easier for Jack to just talk to him. In his heart, it was also because he didn't want to be alone anymore. Even if nothing happened. At least he would have a friend. Right now he needed that. He jotted down a few more sentences and went to sleep.

End Chapter 6 TBC


	7. Chapter 7

_The Worlds Child:_

Two and a half months after the 456 were defeated; the world press got a hold of information that was released to the general public. It was the truth behind what really was affecting the children. Aliens wanted to take ten percent of a gross child population and use them as drugs. The press went wild with it, and the world fell apart.

Fingers were pointed, but the blame fell on Great Britain. Politicians around the world, who wanted to keep their jobs, told the people the whole truth. The voters, satisfied, went about changing the way the system worked. The UK clamped down hard on its people and lied. They put the Queen back in charge, but she really didn't have the control that the population wanted her to have again. It was others, the same ones that started the mess to begin with. They were still faceless. They were still hidden. And they would remain that way.

It was sometime after the press had its 15 minutes of fame, that the State brought forth The Worlds Child. In the State's eyes, the Brits may have been responsible but it was a small British boy that saved the children of the planet Earth. His name was Steven. He was one boy who had a brave heart.

He had no last name, and no one knew who his parents were, just that a simple little boy spared the worlds parents a lot of grief by giving his own life. His true identity was kept hidden, even his face was nothing more than an icon. It was the false image of a god and not his real likeness. It was Photo shopping at its best.

He was a sung hero in story, music and film. He became to be known as the little boy that could. All world citizens, especially the children, were asked to aspire to his level; you never will know when your life maybe needed. As he did, when stepping up as no one else would and said, "Sirs, I'll do my bit for crown and country. My life is here for the greater good." In every forum he was heralded a real life hero.

The Queen was in a mood when she found out that the boy was just a victim. He had become a tool in the worst way: propaganda. She too, figured out that it was also her fate. Rather then making a fuss, she secretly reopened the Torchwood Institute. The offer went out to Gwen Williams and whomever she deemed fit to help. Funds were made available as they were given the go ahead to announce to the world what Torchwood was all about.

That was four months after Jack Harkness left the Earth without a trace. He knew about the use of his grandson. He did nothing to stop it. Nor did Alice Carter, the boy's mother.

Almost three months after Jack left, Gwen and Rhys Williams had a son. He was poetically called Ianto Owen Williams. They also adopted a half Lab mix puppy, and called her Tosh. Jack was the name of the goldfish that Rhys won at the fair for Gwen. It seemed fitting.

In a secret Royal meeting, a rather aging Queen Elizabeth II asked for Mrs. Williams to reform Torchwood by any means necessary. The Queen asked that she make Torchwood publicly known and to make it more of a joke than a serious endeavor. But by showing the public a light side of what they did, they would be able to do serious work behind the government's back. The State need not worry about a bunch of has-beens chasing down ghosts and things that went bump on to the earth in the middle of the night. The Queen was a smart lady. She promised them money and pulled Dr Martha Jones and Mickey Smith out of their livelihoods and gave them the Royal orders that Torchwood was their new job.

Another smart idea was that if they were going to be a "ghost busters" like joke, they should charge a fee. They all smiled as the Queen did.

Gwen didn't know how Rhys would take it. After the Millennium Centre was rebuilt and all was put to right with the Rift and Cardiff, she sat her wonderful husband down and expected another world war.

What she got surprised her. "Love, no wife of mine is going to sit around while the Queen is asking for her to love crown and country! You have a job to do, and this time I will help. If not for you or me or little Ianto Owen, then do it for his namesakes and Tosh. Maybe if you believe that you can make a difference with your actions, Jack will come back." She savored his caress and kissed his lips. This man alone was worth fighting for.

With the Queen's money, Torchwood was reborn. And the public was made aware of its involvement with the 456 and The Worlds Child, bless his heart.

Alice Carter was pissed. So much so, that she contacted Torchwood Three and Gwen Williams. They met on a bright sunny afternoon, in a park, with little Ianto Owen in tow.

The sat and watched the children at play, with Rhys trying to keep up with a four year old.

"Your husband is good with him." Alice began.

"He is a great big kid himself." Gwen bit her lip when she thought that Alice's son was not here and hers was.

"What is his name?" Casual and to the point, so like someone else Gwen knew.

Gwen was being reminded more and more of Jack as she talked to Alice. That not exact way of asking a question, but yet expecting a life story.

"Ianto Owen. He is named after two former Torchwood employees. They were dear friends." Gwen held her head down in memory.

"And I'm sure one or both was my Dad's lover." She didn't catch the surprised look Gwen wore.

"Well Ianto was, he died in your Dad's arms the day the 456 almost won." Gwen went back to biting her lip. Unlike the nervousness she use to get around Jack, Alice just made her scared. The kind when you fear your life is in danger. Like the way Jack was with the cannibals, very scary.

"Yes, the reason why my son is dead. Dad always thought he could fix everything. Well he didn't, did he? I have one thing to say Mrs. Williams, fix this!" She showed her pray poster with Steven's iconic face on it. "Can you stop this before it gets out of control? I would like him to be put to rest!" She got up to leave.

"Alice wait, has your dad been in touch with you?" She was hopeful, always hopeful.

Alice flashed a dangerous smile at Gwen. Gwen recoiled. "I think he knows better, Mrs. William. If he does show his face again, even if he can't die, I will kill him, repeatedly. Good day, Mrs. Williams. Remember what I said, or someday it might be your son." She strutted away switching her hips with attitude.

Ianto Owen ran over to his mommy and was swooped up in to a protective hug.

And so it began the downfall of the Worlds Child. Torchwood was starting off on its usually feet, with all odds stack against them. Gwen smiled up at Rhys.

"Rhys dear, how do you think Andy would fit in with all of this?"

Steven let out that horrible shrill before his body began to convulse as him and the children of the world destroyed the 456, they believed, forever. Jack tossed in his sleep as he felt the blood drain out of his face at the sound. Watching the boy suffer as his brain was turned to jelly. The blood running down the innocent face, Ianto was standing next to him just looking at Jack and smiling.

"I'm sorry, so sorry, I should have said I love you, the both of you." Steven collapsed and Alice swooped down and picked Steven up crying. "So sorry!"

The scream continued as Jack bolted awake. It was no dream; the noise was in the apartment. "Sean!" Jack said out loud. He raced to the door of Sean's bedroom. Turning the doorknob to discover it was locked, he used the Vortex Manipulator to pick it open.

The awful sound stopped as he entered the room. There stood Sean, his face hidden in the half-light the moon let in. He was obviously naked. "Jack?" He spoke.

Slowly Jack moved towards the unmoving statue of the doctor. "Sean, are you okay?" He closed the gap between the young man and himself. He was close enough to look into the young man's eyes. No emotion - nothing.

"Jack, it is just a nightmare. I told you to ignore the screams." As if he woke up he moved out of the room. His naked form wandered over to the couch. "I'm too scared to sleep in there. I just want to sleep here." He curled up his thin form and went back to sleep.

"Sean?" Jack moved cautiously over to the couch and shook him gently. He was sound asleep.

It was a big mistake to have touched his naked flesh. Jack was feeling the effects of that. He went into Sean's bedroom and turned the light on. Nothing seemed amiss. It was then that he noticed a little tiny drop of blood on the pillow. It was still damp. It could mean anything. He grabbed the blanket. Wrapping it around Sean, he let his hand linger for a moment on Sean's face and caressed his cheek. "Sleep better for the rest of the night." He kissed the cheek and got up to investigate the bedroom a little more. Satisfied that there was nothing there, he shut the light, grabbed the bedspread and sat in the chair opposite the couch and watched his roommate sleep.

End Chapter 7 TBC


	8. Chapter 8

_9:00am Tuesday. _

Noises from the kitchen woke Sean out of a heavy, uncomfortable sleep. Shit, how did he get on the couch, he wondered. He closed his eyes again briefly. He remembered that he had another bad dream. Jack had heard him and came into his room. He was embarrassed to get up. He didn't want to leave the couch, much less face Jack. Something told him that it would be all right. That after Jack's breakdown last night and his "nightmare" experience, the two men had shared a deeper secret. It was then he moved his ass off the couch.

"No, no, no, no!" Sean heard quietly from the kitchen, as the smell of something burning hit his nose. He stood and watched Jack's attempt to make eggs. He was losing the battle; maybe Sean should tell him that sometimes it is okay to admit defeat. With the blanket still wrapped around him, Sean giggled, disturbing the Captain's concentration.

"You think it is funny? Well you probably right." Jack turned briefly and smiled at the doctor. "Why don't you have a seat? It's almost ready." Jack instructed, he then took control of the eggs and won.

The plates with eggs and toast were brought over to the table as well as coffee and what was left of some orange juice that had been in the fridge. Sean looked at the plate and pushed it away.

"Is it that bad? You haven't even tasted it." Jack raised an eyebrow at his roommate.

"I'm not hungry." Sean stated dully. "I should just go get ready for work." He went to stand. As the blanket fell over his naked shoulders, he swayed and reached to steady himself on the table.

"Whoa, hang on." Jack was up in a second, steadying Sean before he fell over. "You are not going to work." He reached for the young man's forehead and felt it. It was cold and clammy. "You're running a fever, you are not going into work, not today."

Listless eyes stared back at Jack. "I have no choice. If I don't I will be fired. I'm already beyond my limit for personal days. It is only a half a day. I'll take something, I'll be fine." His hazel eyes stared back at the blue ones that were full of concern.

"Sean, does this happen a lot?" The question hung in the air for several moments. Rather than answering, Sean left the room and headed for the bath in the master bedroom. Jack was right behind him making sure he was okay. Something wasn't right. This wasn't the same man that Jack was getting to know. Or was it?

The shower went on soon after the door to the bathroom clicked shut. Jack sat on the unmade bed that had been abandoned the night before and waited for Sean to finish. He heard what sounded like retching as the water was running. He stood for a long moment listening to make sure that Sean didn't fall over. Before he could return to his perch on the bed, the phone rang.

Jack was never quite sure about protocol in a situation like this. He was technical living there. But wasn't for him so should he pick it up? Well who would be calling him anyway? That thought briefly frighten him. No one was there to call him. He shook the thought out of his brain and picked up the phone. "Hello! Sean Knowlens' residence, Jack speaking." Well didn't that sound awkward? Jack mental slapped himself.

"Excuse me? Who is this? Jack? " There was a brief pause. "This is Sean's Da. I would like to talk to him. Is he there? Oh I'm sorry. You must be the friend he was talking about." It wasn't hard to hear the glee in the old voice.

"Mr. Knowlens he is here, in the shower at the moment. He is feeling a little under the weather. He had a nightmare last night and he seems to be a little uneasy this morning."

There was a pause at the end. "Was it bad, how disorientated does he seem?"

Jack thought on that for a moment. He quickly thought about the doctor's behavior that he had experienced and calculated the best answer. "He is rather confused and is running a fever. He could barely stand at breakfast and he wouldn't eat. He went to sleep on the couch after the dream. I watched him through the night. There was a drop of blood on his pillow; I don't know where it came from. He keeps insisting that he should go to work. His eyes are dull and he just threw up in the shower." Jack didn't know what else to say.

"Jack, tell him to stay home, I will handle it. His boss and I are friends. I'll call his secretary and I can be there with his doctor in about 2 hours. He may seem a little angry by this, but have him just lie down and sleep for a while. The honey brush tea above the stove eases the symptoms. Try to get him to eat something. I'll explain it all when I see you. Sorry that you have to go through this when you just met. If you like him, please don't judge him by this. He is wonderful man."

Jack was confused. Sean's father thought they slept together. Right now it didn't matter because the water just turned off in the shower. "Okay I will. See you later. And I know he is wonderful." Jack hung up the phone.

A wet Sean with a towel wrapped around his waist strolled into the bedroom. His hair was dripping and it was clear from the wet spots on the floor that he didn't bother to dry his body off. He stopped to stare at Jack. The attempt at a smile impressed Jack. Sean was in obvious pain and discomfort.

Sean approached the bed and stopped in front of Jack. Soft concerned blue eyes looked up at the glistening doctor. In a moment lips touched and bodies connected. Sean in a move that could only be demanding pushed Jack down on the bed and straddled him. He sought his lips as he pushed with need into Jack's body. The kiss deepened. Jack pushed Sean off.

"Sean no, this is not right." There was fire in Sean's eyes. A need screamed its protest as Sean stood in front of Jack. In seconds Sean was a sobbing wreck on the floor. The towel around his waist lay next to him.

Jack knelt down and picked the young man up. Placing him on the bed, he noticed that Sean had begun to shake from the cold air hitting his wet body. Jack wiped the doctor down carefully trying not to re-stimulate him by drying him off. "I'm sorry Jack, It just I don't know, and I thought maybe the pain would stop." He continued to sob.

"It's alright." Jack went to the dresser to find something warm to wear. He dressed Sean in a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. Fluffing up the pillow, briefly leaving the room to retrieve the blankets he tucked them around Sean and looked at his young charge. "I'll go get the tea now."

"Wait, I can't. I have to go to work." Sean began to stir. He was too weak and fell back against the pillow. "God! I'm going to lose my job now." Tears fell as he realized how out of control his life was.

"Sean it's alright, your father called, he is calling your boss and will bring the doctor here. If anything, that will prove you're really sick." He patted the young man on the head.

Round eyes looked up at him. "You talked to my Da? He is coming here. Oh god, I don't want him to see me like this. It breaks his heart to know is son is not well." Silent tears trailed down the stressed face of this hurting soul.

Jack suddenly realized what it was to be human. He thought he had forgotten. But a voice, a Welsh voice reminded him that there was nothing wrong with his emotions. After all how many times did Ianto comfort him? He lost count, but he remembered all the times he was holding Ianto as his lover cried.

Jack sat on the bed and held Sean tight. He explained what his dad had told him. "I'm not going to leave you. I still have a story or two or a thousand to tell you." He grinned into the young man's head.

"Tell me one now, anything, I don't care if it is farfetched. Just help me get my mind off this splitting headache. I won't even analyze it. Just don't stop talking." He leaned into Jack's intoxicating scent and shut his eyes to the spinning world before him.

"Okay, lets see, where to begin? Got it. There was a colony called Boeshane that existed in the 51st century. It was amazingly far from earth, but humans populated it. There lived with his parents and brother, a boy that would grow up to be Jack." He hesitated before changing it. "Jack Harkness, the man that could never stay dead. No matter what."

Peter Knowlens hung up with the rather odd man and speed dialed the number he dreaded calling. He sensed that soon he would be losing his son, if something didn't change. He cursed himself out for allowing Liam to talk him into giving him a 10-year-old Sean for his research. Also he allowed them to become lovers when Sean was barely 18. Liam was Sean's senior by 15 years. The marriage was even more of a mistake. But it was so much later in their relationship. And Liam did promise that Sean would go to school and he would choose his own career.

He just found it hard to get this carefree child out of his mind. To think about what he allowed his son to "morph" into. It was what Liam turned him into with his experiments. It made Peter sick.

The voice on the other end said, "You know you are not allowed to call here. What do you want?"

"Please sir, it is about Sean, he can't get to work. I called Dr Tabor to have a look at him. If you could just cut him some slack. I'll do anything. Just don't terminate him yet."

There was dead silence. Not a good sign.

"We had an agreement, Peter. If he can't be controlled, then he must be put down. Have Dr. Tabor call me with the results. If he is compromised, then I'm sorry but the rules are the rules. If you value the rest of your family, you won't stop us. Any resistance and they suffer his fate as well. We mean all of them, Peter. How old are your grandchildren now?"

Tears sprung to his eyes as the thought of his baby boy no longer smiling at him crushed his soul. He wondered what made him sell his youngest to the devil. They said he would not be harmed. The perks turned a nothing-sales clerk into a rich man, allowing him to give his family the best of everything. He could lose them all now. He was just starting to make peace with his other children.

"I understand. I will try to postpone his transformation. But if it can't be stopped, then you can do as you see fit, sir. Thank you." He hung up the phone. Blindly he got into the car and drove to Cardiff. Maybe it was nothing and he was upset for no reason. But he had a duty that outweighed family didn't it?

End Chapter 8 TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Sleeping in his arms, Sean looked happy. It was rather difficult to get him to drink any more tea, but to bribe him Jack told him another story. Sean sipped the tea snuggled up close to Jack while he told him about the Time Agency. He was about to regale him with the meeting of John Hart when soft exhaled breaths and light murmur told Jack that Sean had fallen asleep.

His fever had faded and his color was returning to normal. Jack hesitated in moving, he was enjoy the feeling of just caring, just for one person. He was fast becoming attracted to the young doctor. And that was scaring the piss out of him. And not only because he could foresee himself being in love again, but also because of what he saw in Sean's bedroom last night. The face that was Sean's, but in the moonlight, was something else.

Jack couldn't put his finger on what it was he saw, but the sharp quick glow in Sean's eyes and the calm way the young man addressed the ex Torchwood leader, made Jack shiver slightly. What had happened to this poor guy? Nightmares don't shape change a person. He worked for Torchwood, had been to the end of the universe; he himself couldn't stay dead. Anything was possible. But the improbable was what he found to be possible, in a psychiatrist that helped Ianto years ago. Ianto would have put up a red flag if he thought something or someone was alien. Maybe Sean was normal then?

Still more questions then answers. Despite the amount of unanswered questions, Jack loved a good puzzle. And despite being dead, Ianto had become part of some of them as well. He lifted Sean up gently as he laid him on the pillow; then he lightly kissed his head and shut the door behind him. He had a little time in the apartment alone before Sean's father showed up with his doctor. This should be exciting in an awkward Inquisition kind of way. And Jack hated the rack with a passion. He preferred the comfy chair, if he was going to be tortured.

Liam was the missing link. Why did a research project have a maximum-security code on a simply file? Jack was so tempted to try hacking into it on Sean's computer, but the last thing he wanted was a run in with the police. Besides, he had it on the authority of a good friend that he himself was a wanted man. At first he thought about leaving again. But no sooner had he gotten the Vortex Manipulator fixed that he came back to Earth and it short-circuited again. He was convinced the Ileaw repair thing (never could figure out what gender they were, it was safer to just not use pronouns, use their names and stick with it,) had ripped him off, or the fates paid it to make sure Jack stayed on Earth this time.

Anyway, as of late, his mind tended to not focus, so he shook his head and went back to the living room. Pictures told a thousand words, and Jack decided to focus on the ones that were scattered about the room. There was one of Sean and an old man that by appearances could only be Sean's dad. They were exactly alike in face and both were smiling. Sean had a great smile. Jack made a mental note that he was going to try to make that young man smile more. The next was Sean with an older woman, another male and a female. Must be his mom and siblings, no doubt of that, they all looked too much a like. Jack started to remember about Gray. He was dead now, went with the Hub, and all of Jack's collective memories. He and Gray looked nothing alike. But everyone could tell they were brothers when they were younger. He sniffled a little as the photographs brought up painful memories.

He came across a photograph of Sean with an older man. This had to be Liam; it was their wedding picture. Jack peered at it intently, trying to get a sense of who this other man was. Sean look so happy, Liam wasn't even looking at the camera. Instead, his head was turned and he was smiling at the young man. The next picture that Jack came across, he took out of the fame and used Sean's copier. It was just Liam. Not smiling, just looking at the camera as if annoyed. Jack mind slipped to another place.

"_Jack come on it is just a picture. I just want one picture of you. Please."_

_Ianto held the camera and pointed it at Jack. The sky was blue and the waves crashed gently against the bay's shore. He snapped it so fasted that Jack couldn't have hid his face as if he wanted to. _

_Ianto's Welsh accent resonated in his laughter as he danced around with glee. The picture was of a brooding Jack, which for some reason made Ianto laugh even harder. _

"_Let me see that!" Jack rushed the young man as he tried to get the camera out of his hand. Ianto was too fast. He shifted the camera back and forth and danced around Jack. He was having the time of his life, his face flushed with laughter. His eyes were bright with happiness and the carefree moment of life they were allowed in that moment in time. They forgot who they were, as their 'get the camera' dance became sillier. Laughing to the point of breathlessness, both parties were winded and panting. Jack looked into Ianto's eyes. _

_It was a real kiss that two people in love share. A kiss that says, thank you for that moment. The sun was hot and making them sweat just a little. It was a moment in an endless sea of time. But that didn't matter. It was their moment. _

With Ianto distracted in that moment, Jack took the camera and ran down to the beach. That baffled Ianto, who yelled after him. "Hey that's cheating! Jack, if you break that camera, you are buying me a new one." He laughed as he chased his lover through the heavy sand.

"_Cheating Ianto? You know that I always cheat." And with a howl, he led his lover to a much more secluded place. _

He had forgotten about that. Lately, these were the moments that kept coming back. The small ones were the most potent. He closed his eyes briefly, vowing to ask Sean about it later. He returned Liam back to his frame. He rifled through the drawers of Sean's desk, but nothing surfaced. He poked around and glanced in a closet or two for a box that might contain a little more of Liam. But there was nothing. He would have assumed after a tragic death that you would retain something of the person, not just pictures. But Sean might have hid those things in the bedroom.

He huffed out a breath in frustration and paced a little. Retrieving the picture from the copier, he folded it into his pocket and went to clean up the uneaten wasted food that had been their breakfast.

Peter met Dr. Paul Tabor in the lobby of Sean's condo building. They shook hands and were given permission by the doorman to head upstairs. In the elevator, the atmosphere between them was tense. Each man was trying to decide where to begin with the other.

"Liam was an ass, Peter. He never should have continued with Sean like this. I know what you're thinking. But if it is true, then he has to be dealt with. I will make a suggestion to him. To sell this place, retire and move out to the country. He has survived his time and I will put in a good word for him. This way there will be less stress and new surroundings may help him to stay this off for a bit." Paul looked at the aging Peter and smiled.

"You know he would have to be forced into that. He'll never do it on his own. What are you going to say to him?" Peter knew what the answer was going to be before it came out of the other man's mouth.

"I'm going to tell him the cancer's back. And this time there is no cure. Maybe he will listen and go. Give us some time to regroup and keep him safe. But he has to get away from them, from the city, there are two many eyes here." Paul stared at the brown leather of his shoes, not daring look at his friend.

Peter knew Paul to be an honest, caring type, but this news would shatter Sean. He was just getting it all back. Also it seemed so unfair. He was such a happy child. Why did he have to suffer so? "Will they let him go then, if you give them this false report? What are you going to say? That there is no way he will become what they fear?"

"I hope so, I hope so for both your sakes. Elizabeth doesn't talk to him, does she?" He knew Peter's wife despised Sean. He didn't know why he bought it up. Maybe just so Peter knew he was still on his side, still on Sean's. He ran his hands through his thinning white hair and used a finger to groom his mustache. The elevator door opened.

" No. Because of Sean, she and I split. I won't give up on him. She still thinks that he is not the child she gave birth to. And in a way she is right. But I will never give up on my selfless son. All he wants is love and to be love. In a way, Liam gave him that. Liam also gave him twenty-two years he wouldn't have had. After looking at them, maybe that wasn't such a good idea, Paul. Did I do a wrong to my flesh and blood by turning him over to a mad scientist?"

Paul's eyes soften as he nodded to his friend. "No, it means you love your son. I envy that. I will do my best to call off the hounds. I'll say I think the cancer has come back. Will that be kinder?"

Peter smiled. "He won't buy it. Oh and he has a 'friend' there. I don't know what he is all about. But he sounds good on the phone. I hope he is!"

Paul patted his friend's shoulder as they approached the door. Peter let himself in. He found Jack in the kitchen doing the dishes. Jack quickly wiped his hands and shook Peter's hand as he introduced himself. Paul stared at Jack. He swore to himself that he had seen him before. It couldn't have been, though. That was almost 40 years ago.

Jack reached for his hand and paused. It was because the doctor was staring at him. "Sorry, if my hands are wet, Doctor. I was trying to clean up."

The handshake was forgotten as Sean rushed out of the bedroom and straight into his Da's arms. "You're here, I'm feeling so much better, thanks to Jack." He smiled at the blue-eyed hero that stood nearby.

"Sean all I did was bore you to sleep with a story. I don't think I did anything." He laughed a little.

Dr. Paul Tabor knew he had heard that laugh before. God, this was going to bug him, he thought. But Sean was his first concern. Jack would come later. Sean looked well; even refreshed. As a matter of fact, he looked much better than he was six months ago when they thought it was all over. He hated himself for the talk he was going to have with Sean.

"Sean, into the bedroom, please. I need to examine you. If you would excuse us," he said with a nod to the other two men.

"Be back in a bit." Sean whirled around and headed out of the room.

Jack saw the strained look on Peter Knowlen's face. He was afraid of something. Or the weight of something was finally crushing him. Either way, Jack decided to get to the bottom of this mystery he found himself in.

"I could make us some coffee while we wait if you like. I had a friend who could charm the pants off of you with his coffee. Mine is drinkable. That is the best I can do. Shall we?"

As if he just awoke, Peter looked at Jack. He saw an older man not much younger than himself, who had just spent the night with his son. Peter was not old fashioned by a long shot, but Jack's presence was a bit annoying, if not outright wrong. He had just met Sean and he had already spent the night. Sean seemed to be enamored by the man. "What are you to my son?" The question held lot venom.

Blinking at Peter, Jack didn't know how to answer that question. "He is helping me with a few issues." That was a complete understatement.

"Oh, I see, so when you were sleeping with him, did you see anything when he had the nightmare?" Peter's method of asking the question made the hair stand up on the back of Jack's neck.

"No," was the simple lie that Jack provided. "It isn't like that with him and I." That was the truth. But in Jack's mind that was not going to be that way before too long, he was become aware of the comfort he was finding with Sean's presence. "I was staying in the guest room. He was in the living room before I got to him. He said he couldn't stay in his room anymore and stumbled over to the couch."

The tone changed dramatically. " Oh good. Let's see to the coffee."

Jack was immensely confused. He was not sure entirely what the conversation was about just as he was unsure what he saw pertaining to Sean the other night. All he knew was it was dark and Sean was slightly glowing in the moonlight. Whatever was going on with the young man, it was not entirely human. It was unearthly. Right up the Captain's alley. He liked the feeling of the mystery.

Jack ventured once the coffee was done and the two went into the living room to ask after what illness Sean was suffering from.

His father was saddened in the response he gave. "Cancer, most of his life on and off. Dr. Tabor seems to think it has returned. We want Sean to vacation for a bit, retire and live his life. Until... I won't say it. Jack, can you do me a favor and don't say anything to Sean unless he mentions it? He will be in denial over it. I just hope it isn't true." Peter looked down at the table, unable to meet the other man's gaze. He didn't move.

In all his wisdom and years Jack knew a dying man when he saw one, and he was not buying it for a moment. Sean was as healthy as could be. It was something else that was there, that was making him sick. Why would his father buy into this load of crap?

" I was hoping he would have been a writer." Peter stated in a deep sorrowful tone, the failure could be heard in his voice. "He loved to listen to people's stories. I thought of asking the State to let him go so he could live out his days as a writer. He has paid back his debt with them for long enough. But that is something for them to decide." Silence rested over the pair. It was there that Jack thought that none of the pieces in the puzzle that he had found so far fit.

And neither did Sean think so, but he blindly took the visual diagnosis from his doctor. Without so much as a blink, he nodded. He was going to find another doctor. He took the pills he was handed and placed them on the nightstand. He would flush them later.

"Sean, I'm sorry." Dr. Tabor said.

"Thank you, Paul. It means a lot." Sean was careful to school his emotions in front of the other man. "I'll show you out."

Dr. Paul Tabor said his good byes, took one more sidelong glance at Jack, and left. It was quiet for ten minutes. No one moved.

"Da, I love you, but what is this load of bull you are trying to pull on me now?" Sean asked.

End Chapter 9 TBC


	10. Chapter 10

"Well Da., I want the truth!" Sean screamed at his father.

Peter flinched as if he had been hit. Soft hazel eyes watered at the look on his son's face. Sean was full of furious anger. The huffing noise that came out of his mouth was something he hadn't done since he was a child, right before a tantrum. Peter was looking for signs of that little boy he lost so long ago. There weren't any in the angry man he saw before him.

"Son, please calm down. This isn't how it was suppose to be. Sean you have to understand I love you. If Paul says…" He couldn't get the words out.

"Paul was fucking Liam behind my back, Da. I had to turn away, because I had no one to go to. Liam was everything. Da, I want the truth!" He turned and punched the wall. His fist went right through it. He just looked at the wall, before he spoke very calmly. "I need to leave here. When I get back, I want the truth. If you won't give me that, then don't be here when I return." He pulled his hand out of the hole in the wall and went for the door.

"Sean wait, you can't leave. Sean, come back." The echo of the slamming door was all that was left of the emotional scene that just took place. Peter went to follow his upset son, but Jack stopped him. The old man looked at him in a different light. Jack appeared to take command as almost a tower of strength. "Let me go please, he is my son." The words were weak, almost defeated in their delivery.

"Let him be. He needs to blow off some steam. He'll be back." Jack smiled at Peter.

Suddenly Peter saw a man with great wisdom. A better man, not something that Sean took in, but someone who was maybe capable of loving his son. "You don't know him; he isn't safe. He has never run away from a day in his life." The little boy with the smile and laughter appeared in his mind. The boy might as well have died twenty-two years ago.

"We all need to run. I did a lot of that myself and for along time. I needed to. It doesn't mean we can't face up to the music, and come back to try again. I just cleared my head and returned for the ones I love and will try again to keep them safe. Sean is still finding his footing. But I have a feeling he is very close to a breakthrough of his own. Now in the meantime tell me what happened to him. I want the truth. Oh, and I'll know when you are lying," Jack said as he waited for answers.

Sean wandered for a time and ended up at a children's play area. He really wanted to play on the swings. Something deep inside said go for it and before long there was an adult male playing amongst all the little kids. He didn't care. He was having fun. It was when he was going to try and flip himself over the bars that he noticed a small boy with dark almost black hair staring at him. He glided to a stop and glanced at the boy. He couldn't be any more than four.

"Up," was the command from the boy.

Sean tilted his head trying to understand. "Oh you want to go on the swing."

The boy pouted and looked at Sean. Picking his nose, he nodded his head rather sharply yes.

"Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt." He gently picked the tot up and placed him on the swing. "Well, there you go."

The boy said nothing as he tried to pump his legs and make the swing go. "No go." His face had an even deeper pout than it had before Sean picked him up.

Sean smiled at the frustrated child. "I'll get you started. Would you like that?"

It was as if Sean had given him a present. The boy's eyes lit up and a huge smile spread across his little round face. "YES!"

Sean was careful at first. He giggled when the boy demanded his new servant push him higher. "More go," was the chant every so often. The boy laughed, as did Sean.

"Ianto Owen, where are you? Ianto Owen, you are pissing mum off right now." A woman who looked like the boy stopped when she saw her son being pushed by a stranger. She was about to run, when she stood for a moment to watch them. Whoever it was, she got the impression that he was nothing more then the victim of her son's demands.

"More Go!" The boy shrieked.

"Ianto Owen, for shame! You had mommy all worried. And to think you were here bothering this poor man."

Sean embarrassed, stopped the swing. The action was followed by "No more go?" Sean laughed. And she joined in.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking and I looked over to see him standing there. He was a great source of comfort and a very excellent distraction from my troubles." He watched the mother pick up her son. His mother never did that with him. "Dr Sean Knowlens, State Department Psychiatric branch. I'm really glad to have met - what was his name?"

"Ianto Owen Williams isn't that right, my heart? Mine's Gwen." She blew a raspberry on the boy's neck, making him giggle.

"Ianto? That's strange. I had a patient with that name, or so I have been told. His boyfriend has been a great help to me the last couple of days." It was an eerie silence formed around them, as Gwen frowned.

"Oh well it is not an uncommon name. Well, I should be off. Thank you again." She turned to go but swung back around to say. "His boyfriend didn't wear a great coat straight out of WWII?" With a wild hope, she was reaching.

"No, he has a leather jacket. Well, take care." He turned to leave.

Gwen remembered the number of the CCTV cameras about and decided to check out this Sean Knowlens. Just in case.

"No, I want ice cream, you too." Ianto Owen said to Sean.

"I don't know if your mum wants that." He bent down to the toddler and ruffled the boy's

hair.

"Mummy, can we please? He my friend." The boy's dark eyes shined up at her.

How could she say no? "Okay, get your ball so we can leave. If that is okay with you, Dr. Knowlens?" The doctor look upset, but smiled.

"Sure, how can I say no? And please, the name is Sean." His face was bright and cheerful, Ianto Owen bounded up to them with a little skipping dance. He was carrying a large yellow ball. A giggle emerged out of his mouth as he grabbed Sean's hand. Gwen seemed startled by the way she raised her eyebrows.

"I think he has a crush on you."

As if suddenly awakened, Sean's face warmly grinned at her. "No, I'm just the guy that makes it go."

Gwen took the boy's other hand and they went a block up from the park in search of ice cream.

A woman pushing a pram watched the couple and child leave the area. "They are heading west now. 35, you should have a visual in a few."

"Got them! I follow them for the rest of the way. 67, keep your eyes open, we should be passing you rather shortly."

"Got you on scene. I'll start recording now," 67 replied.

The ice cream parlor was packed. After about 15 minutes they got their orders. Heading outside for a table was the best option; the place was overrun by teenagers and was very noisy with the talk of the latest this and that. It seemed that even with the world falling about their ears, a pretty boy or girl could still bring a smile to the teenage heart. At least they could still be fans.

Gwen was talking about Ianto Owen, her parents and Rhys, her husband, while Sean listened like he was trained to do. They didn't see the man kick the ball out from under the table or the yellow blur heading down to the street. The child ran after it. The ball stopped in the street. Ianto Owen bent to retrieve it as well. A bus rounded the corner and went straight for the little boy.

Gwen smile faded as she saw the boy in the middle of the road. The bus was hurtling towards him, as he played with the ball in childlike oblivion. She screamed. No one heard her; no one noticed as she began to run for the boy. "Ianto Owen, get out of the road!"

The boy looked at his Mummy and waved. He went back to bouncing the ball. In that split second, the event unfolded as if time stood still. A streak went passed Gwen and stopped in front of the child.

Acting as a wall between the child and the bus, Sean stood his ground. The bus driver was unaware of the two in the road until it was far too late to stop. The brakes began to burn and the smell of burning rubber permeated the block has he tried to halt the vehicle. Panic showed on his face as he saw there was no way to stay the inevitable. He threw his arms in front of his face as a shield against the horror of what was to come.

Gwen sobbed, frozen in place.

Sean held out his arms at an attempt to stop the bus. The world stopped moving for a split second. And so did the bus with the help of Sean. His fingers rested on the front grill ever so lightly.

The crowd that gathered was prepared for the horrifying scene. That show just never happened. Instead, they watched a miracle. They cheered and ran to Sean and the boy. Gwen swooped in to pick up a rather unimpressed tot. She kissed him and squeezed him as he giggled.

Sean was overwhelmed with the people surrounding them and they were touching him and thanking him. Some turned away to see if the boy was okay. The police showed up and the press. A lot of people were on Twitter and the Net telling friends and spreading the footage they had shot.

The world became aware of a miracle and Gwen saw something different, almost alien, not the super hero or angel she heard the rest that had gathered say.

There was a split second for a chance to escape, and Sean took it. No one saw the young confused doctor head for home. What the hell had he become?

Gwen decided that Sean Knowlens was very much worth finding out about.

Another was on the sidelines watching. "He is active now. Time for level two."

End Chapter 10 TBC


	11. Chapter 11

"Acute Lymphoblast Leukemia. Malignant immature white blood cells multiply and are over produced in the bone marrow. Sean was ten when he was diagnosed with it. For the most part when it is caught early, the cure works. It wasn't. They gave him 3 to 12 weeks. Not much time to live. He was still happy, despite how ill he was. It broke my heart." Peter began to sob with the memory.

Jack watched the old man shed his painful tears. He was beginning to understand. That loss was everywhere. When he last spoke to Gwen, he said all he could see was death. In his mind it made sense. At time that was all there was to him. Ianto was gone; his death was new and hurtful. Jack's heart told him that someday they would part. But it was still quick. He never watched anyone suffer for long and die. Even Steven, as tragic as his death was; he suffered over a short period of time. Peter would have had to watch his favorite child die in front of him, slowly and in great agony. Jack gained respect for this man.

"Liam Eckerson came to me. He was a friend of the physician, Paul Tabor, who was treating Sean. Not treat, that isn't the word, making him more comfortable. My son made everyone happy. In the hospital he was called Little Sunshine. This light attracted Liam like a moth to a flame. He examined my son and came to me with a proposal.

"_You son is fading fast. But he still smiles. I think that shows a true living spirit. I'll make you a deal. There is a trial going on that may cure him. Sean might be given a chance. But we have to act quickly and he must be moved to our experimental facility._ _There is a monetary compensation and we can get you a better job if it works out. Bare in mind it will take years, but they will be years that he didn't have before." Liam smiled and wiped the hair out of the face of a sleeping Sean. _Peter recounted the conversation to Jack.

"I felt like I signed his tiny soul away to the devil. And in away I did. I was only allowed to see him for a day or two for the first 6 months. Most of the sunshine he had was gone. He didn't talk much, but he was alive. His mother came to see him once. She didn't have time for this now that my new life gave her a social circle. His brother and sister where enjoying the good life as well. The best schools, clothes and friends, they never spoke of their sick little brother. I was the only one that didn't leave him.

"At first year was hard, he was in pain and on a lot of different drugs. Liam basically said they rebuilt him so to speak. Starting at a subatomic level they moved from single cells to the body as a whole. Sean was thin and pale and didn't laugh at all. But the light shone in his eyes for me. But he would smile when Liam came into the room. I was afraid I would lose my son forever.

"I didn't know the name of the group that took control of Sean's medical expenses or what they were after. But months turned in to years and my son grew up. That alone was enough to be grateful for. Even if the world fell apart and a poor man makes a pack with Satan to save his favorite child. He was smiling at me once again.

"At fifteen he was still in Liam's care. I made great progress with my job and had a huge house. My other family was basically gone. Sean's mother went to visit him and she was appalled that he seemed a little too close to his doctor. It was the last time she ever went there.

"Liam had Paul helping him at the time. He was older than Liam and they were close friends. Oh, he and used to work for Unit."

Jack's face lit up. "Ah, pull them down around the ankles Paul! I remember him, now. I use to be, well, close to him, well that was around 1973, I think? We had a few, well more then a few wild nights. I think there were some others as well." The grin from ear to ear was shear madness.

Peter just stared at him. "My son let a lunatic into his house. That is impossible, he is around sixty-five, you are what thirty, maybe thirty-five. What do you play me for, a fool?"

"If you yell, 'get out' at me, you are Sean's father. The two of you are amazingly alike in your features. I can't die; well I can, just not forever. I can't stay dead. But I will see the end of the universe." Peter just stared at the crazy as if he needed this to some how make sense, but he knew would never get to that outcome. "I'll live forever."

"That is the biggest load of bullshit that anyone has ever said. I don't believe you!" Peter turned red with his rage, as his cheeks puffed out like some angry ape. "So you want me to believe that you had a thing with Paul?"

"A thing is a bit too descriptive for me, let say a few good nights. I didn't care for him, and I don't think he did me either. Can we get back to your son now? I would like the rest of the story. I saw something in the bedroom that wasn't really Sean. I suggest if you love him like you say you do, you will allow me to help him. Now spill it!" Jack was beyond tolerance at this point. He was very close to scaring the old man by slamming his fist on the table.

"Who are you? Do you work for someone? Because I need to know that you can protect him from the voice on the other end of the phone." Peter sadly raised his head up at the strange man in despair. "I love my son; I only did it to keep him alive." Peter was close to breaking. "Please say you will protect him."

He thought of his young grandson; he couldn't protect him. The boy would never grow up, never fall in love, drive a car or get grounded for coming home late and smelling like beer. But yet so many were safe because of him. And now the world looked at him like a god or as saint. They pray to him, keeping his innocent image alive and fresh. Was it worth it? How, when all Jack saw was his death, death in general? Death was the face of the beautiful Welsh man while the life left his eyes. His life was still in the here and now. What would Ianto have him do? So should he invoke the Captain again, the unsung hero? Or should he leave Sean to his own devices, even though this child, to Jack that was what he was, made him feel again. He could tell him all of it, and Sean would never judge him. What would that wonderful soft-eyed Welshman say to that?

"_If anything happens to me Jack, I want you to never be alone. Find someone at least to talk to. There is this doctor, Sean Knowlens, he will listen and not judge. He can help you." Ianto kissed Jack and snuggled back down into the warm nakedness of his Captain's body. That night they touched each other, caressing and stroking each other into pleasure. Jack never forgot it. The softness of kisses and the gentleness of touches were more then any sex act he had experienced. It was all uniquely Ianto. _

_Will I ever find love again, sweetheart? Did you point me to Sean? Did you foresee your own death? Tell me what to do. Should I let the Captain out to play with the human race again? It was your voice that led me here. What is it that you want?_

He said it to no one, just himself in the darkness of his mind. Peter waited, wondering if the mad man had finally snapped.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness. I work - well worked for Torchwood. My grandson was Steven, the World's Child. He didn't volunteer. He didn't even know what was happening to him. As penance, I will help your son. For him and the other dead faces that are before me every time I close my eyes, I will help Sean. Now, tell me the rest!" He wasn't angry, just suddenly sick of playing games.

Peter continued with a new understanding of the man in front of him. "He was stronger than when he was ten. They cured him. He was even laughing again, when Liam was there. He was eighteen and so handsome. But somehow he was socially backwards. I asked Liam to let him get out more, meet others his own age. He said that Sean was not ready for that. I asked him about school, university. Liam said he would arrange for Sean to go to Uni. Sean decided he wanted to be a psychiatrist. That was fine. Even as a little boy I knew he wanted to help people. I thought that meant the peace corp." He smiled at the memory.

"I went to visit him on his eighteenth birthday. I found him with Liam in bed and they were being intimate. I turned away and couldn't watch his doctor do that to my boy. I complained to the people running the laboratory, but nothing was done. Sean was an adult and able to leave the facility if he wanted to. He stayed with Liam, they moved in together. I cried a lot with the death of my boy's lost childhood.

"Sean warmed up to me in the months that followed after he moved in here with Liam. Liam wanted me to still be a part of Sean's life. He also didn't want me to hate him for seducing my son. It was wrong. But one night he told me he never loved anyone like he did Sean. He promised to take care of him. Sean was happy. Three years later, the nightmares started and Sean started losing weight. Liam found nothing wrong with him, nor did Paul. But Sean was changing. It was the temper flare-ups that got me. I would stay here as often as I could. Sean was becoming more violent. Paul stuck him on god knows what, and he started getting better. But the nightmares didn't stop.

"One night he was in the living room and he was glowing or looked it. But he wasn't Sean, at least not my Sean. Liam gave him a shot of something and he slept. In the morning he couldn't move. For days he just stayed in bed. Liam was visibly upset. But he never told me what was going on. I had a feeling that the cancer was coming back.

"In time Sean got a good practice going. He was finally coming out of his shell. Liam was in love with him, but sometimes I got this impression that all wasn't well with them. Sean never wanted to talk about it. He was closed off more and more to me. But he was still happy when I was around, as long as we didn't talk about Liam. I guess that is when Liam and Paul were having the affair. Something tells me that was going on for a lot longer than I thought. They married a short time later." He paused and went to get something to drink.

Jack was processing the key points in the conversation. So far, the glowing non-human Sean was the only thing he could relate to. The rest just seemed like a sad human tale. Something in which he was feeling less apart of as he aged was being human. But the Captain was starting to want in on this whole mystery. He watched Peter return to the table and with a quiver of his old self, sat across from Jack again.

"You have a look about you. It goes with out saying that maybe your truth is real. Sean did kill Liam. That is a truth I will share, the only one I have except that they changed my son. It was not a drunk driving incident. They had a fight over Paul, two years after they were married. They were at the stoplight and I guess Sean got mad and threw Liam into the windshield with some super ability and slammed the car into an on coming vehicle. He was almost at death's door for three weeks. His memory was gone. He remembered Liam and bits of things. But what went on in the hospital when he was younger; well that was gone. It was all covered up as well." Peter took a sip of his drink and looked at the table.

Jack searched the man to make sure he spoke the truth. 'You spoke of the voice on the phone. Do you know anything about the person, how he/she sounds? Maybe who they worked for?"

"No the voice is masked, covered up. I have no idea the gender. It is almost unearthly. I'm sorry, that is all I got," Peter replied.

Jack reached across the great divide and touched Peter's hand. "Your son is a source of comfort to me. I'll not abandon him, Peter. He lets me talk and tell him things I've kept bottled up. I will help him. If he wants's it. Now, I should make a phone call."

Peter nodded and watched Jack get up to use the phone. "Don't you have a mobile?"

"Nah," He flipped his wrist strap open and pointed at the phone. "Hello, I would like to speak to Martha Jones, please." Rolling his eyes at the phone. "Since when does Torchwood play elevator music when you're on hold? Hello Martha, who do you think it is? Yeah well I'm back and I need a favor, dear. No, I don't want her to know just yet. Please, this is bad enough. Yeah, I need information on Liam Eckerson and Sean Knowlens. Both are doctors." He proceeded to give off other details as Sean ran into the house shaken and went straight to the TV. "Sean, are you okay? Listen, I'll call you back, Martha. Yes, I'll be in touch in a few." He hung up and went to the living room followed by Peter.

Sean was sweating and pale. It was obvious he was running a fever as he flicked the TV on.

"A miracle today as a young man who left the heroic scene saved the life of a small child today by stopping a bus in its tracks with his bare hands." The footage was played over and over again. "If anyone knows this young man, kindly contact the authorities. Also, if you know the child and his mother as well." They showed Gwen and her son. A lump formed in the back of Jack's throat as he watched the images on the screen.

"I'm going to be sick," Sean grabbed his mouth and ran to the bathroom. Jack watched the footage a little more. In the corner of his eye he saw Peter go after his son.

"Gwen." Jack went to put the kettle on for the tea. He called Martha back. "Put Gwen on." He waited. "I'm so sorry I left. I need your help and Torchwood's. Gwen, Sean is with me he is the one that saved your little boy, I need you to run a Rift spike program. Key it to a temporal anomaly. I may need to run with him. There is a person or group that may have something to do with this. I need your help. I missed you as well."

The silence was deafening and then the angel spoke. "Of course, Jack. But I must see you first. Let me do some searching. I will get some things together and meet you at his apartment. Oh, he gave me his name already. He is really sweet. I missed you more than you can imagine." She hung up the phone.

Sean's Da came out of the bedroom and pleaded with Jack. "He won't come out of the bathroom. Please talk to him.

Patting the man on his back, he went to deal with the shattered mess that was once Sean Knowlens.

End Chapter 11. TBC


	12. Chapter 12

The knock on the bathroom door didn't budge Sean from his position between the tub and the toilet. He was shaking and he knew he would need to empty the contents of his stomach again.

"Sean it's your Da, please, open the door son. I just want to help."

Barely heard were the words. "Haven't you helped enough?" Inwardly the thought was "and look what your help has gotten me. Liam, I need you, why are you not here?"

"_Because you ended my life, like I always knew you would. I'm so sorry Sean, sorry that you have no one to turn to. But my love, you have to be strong. You are so much better than the rest of the infestation that is called the human race. My superman, my amazing creation will never give in to them." _

Why could he hear those words? Liam must have said them, but when was that? His head was beginning to hurt really bad, flashes of events. Racing through the streets in a wild frenzy, so careless of the world. "I was never part of this place, Liam, you saw to that." His head pounded harder and the universe began to show itself for what it was. Absolutely nothing.

"Sean, its Jack, please open the door. Sean, we can help you. I want to help you. But you have to let me in." The words seemed to be the only real thing left.

"Help me? How Jack, how? I know the truth. I killed him. After I saved that little boy. I saw Liam's death. I just ended his life. There is no help for me. I'm…" He threw up again and began to dry heave. He had nothing left. Why did even his truth seem wrong? "God my head!" With a scream he began to pound it in to the tiled wall.

Within moments Jack was by his side, using a towel to cushion the next blow. Sean had managed to draw blood. Jack picked him up and bought him to the bedroom. He was semi conscious of the action. "I just want it to end."

"No you don't! Don't you ever say that, not ever Sean, hang on, just hang on." Trying to get away, Sean sat up but fell back to the pillow.

"Sean, just stay still, please baby, just for your old Da here. Jack, he needs a doctor."

Jack watched Sean and picked up the phone. He asked the person on the other end to hurry over to Sean's and if they could bring some things. He rambled off a list. When the phone call was done, Jack returned to hold Sean protectively. "Peter I need you to do something for us. Go get all the cash you can and make sure you are not followed. I'm pretty sure that he is being watched. Hopefully they won't pay attention to you. But if you look out the window there is a blue van parked across the street. We can thank Paul for that. Also there is a woman who has been drinking coffee across the street as well. She is most likely followed him back from the park." He mopped some of the blood away from the gash. Gently he held the towel over the wound.

"I'll go out the back entrance. It is just for maintenance men. Jack whom did you call? Was it Torchwood? Will they help him?" It was the genuine concern of the father that touched Jack.

"Best if you don't know all of it. If they get you…" Who are they? Jack thought. "Just for his sake," he caressed Sean's cheek, "don't get caught." The young man stirred slightly and moaned a little. "Peter can you get the tea and some water and a wet towel before you go? He is burning up and I don't want to leave him alone." Jack watched the man nod and return quickly with the requested items.

Jack looked at the gash on Sean's head again. "This isn't good, Peter. But you should get going. Leave the door unlocked. My friends will be here in a few moments." He put the cold towel on Sean's head and gave him a sip of the tea.

Peter leaned in a kissed his son's cheek. Sean stirred. "Don't worry Da, just go. Be safe. I'm sorry I upset you." He opened his eyes and smiled weakly.

Jack thought what beautiful eyes they were even in the pain that Sean was in. He moaned slightly and rubbed his head into Jack's chest. There was a surge of warmth that ran through Jack's frozen heart. Sean looked at him. Jack fought a familiar urge and went to give him some more tea. Sean sipped gratefully and smiled up at the immortal man. "Jack, thank you." It was barely a whisper. Sean was shaking with fever.

Peter put the blanket around his son and took his leave. And just in case, he left his cell phone behind. He didn't want to take a chance that Paul or anyone including that voice at the other end of many a conversation, could follow him.

The Torchwood team showed up around 7 pm on that Tuesday night. Peter was gone out the back and no one noticed. The ones out front noticed the SUV pull up. The girl changed positions. The ones in the van had a visitor. Mickey Smith greeted the gentlemen and knocked them out. After setting up shop in the van, he was able to locate every other agent that was in the area. In a matter or moments his swift keyboard skills allowed him access into their system, now he would wait. As soon as Jack was ready to move, he was able to cover him. "So much for being the tin dog," he grinned.

At 7:10pm - Ex PC Andy Davidson walked up to the woman in his patrolman uniform and instructed the woman to follow him, that he was told to bring her to another location. When asked why, he responded. "Look miss, I'm just following orders. They said that your communications were out of order and you could use my car to talk to your boss. I really don't know why. Just that it is code 23222ded34lase5 if that makes sense to you." He stayed neutral in his facial movement, and asked her to follow him.

In the alleyway, Rhys gave her a quick retcon injection before she knew what hit her. She would be lucky to remember her name. "Well you stupid sod, you forgot one of the numbers. Why the hell did she follow you?"

"Don't know. Well are you going to help me move her, or are you going to stare at her chest all day? I'm beginning to like you Rhys, don't ruin it for me." He playfully punched Rhys in the shoulder and took one peek at the well-endowed lady and picked her up by her shoulders while Rhys took her legs.

7:15pm - Gwen Williams and Dr. Martha Jones arrived at Sean's condo and told the doorman that they had an appointment with Sean Knowlens. The doorman, never letting a woman, let alone women into the Knowlens abode buzzed them in. He was happy that maybe Sean was finally having friends come see him. After all, he had called down earlier to say he would be having guest. It was strange, he just saw Sean about under an hour ago and he didn't say anything. He guessed it was a spur of the moment thing. The ladies signed in and took the elevator up to the condo on the 6th floor.

Guns out, they entered the place. Quietly, they walked through the open door.

"Gwen, are you still wearing that cheap perfume Rhys buys you? I could smell you from the lobby. I'm in the bedroom. No I fully clothed!" He added with a smirk that the two knew was there.

Putting her gun away, Gwen ran into the bedroom, only to find Jack in bed with Sean. Sean was very pale and sweating. "Jack, what the hell happen to him? He was fine after he saved Ianto Owen."

The name bore holes in Jack's already weakened heart. "Ianto Owen, that is a fine name for your son," he said in a soft voice. Glistening eyes met Gwen's while he struggled to maintain control. "How are you, Gwen?"

"Better now." The "because you are back" hung in the air.

Martha pushed passed her to examine the man lying in Jack's arms. She got out some device and began to take reading. "His temperature is 110 Fahrenheit. That is impossible! And he is still conscious." Opening his eyes to shine a light in them Sean looked back at her. "Hello Sean, My name is Dr. Martha Jones. I'm a friend of Jack's." She smiled warmly at Jack. "Can you tell me if it hurts anywhere?"

Despite the discomfort he manage a weak "Hello." He studied the pretty woman for sometime before he answered. Shaking from the fever he looked at he with burning eyes. "My head feels like someone is smashing the inside with a hammer."

She took the towel away and motioned for Jack to move away from Sean. He just looked at her, like he didn't think it was a good idea. But like it always was with Martha, one silent disapproving glance and he was on his feet. Sean made a protesting grunt for the lack of support to his head. Jack quickly put a pillow under him.

"The head wound was not the cause of the headache. Though it didn't help it. He was pounding the pain out of his head on the tile of the bathroom wall. I think when he stopped the bus; his body went through some change. The same thing happened the other night after his nightmare. He was in terrible pain the next day. His father said that he had leukemia when he was 10 and that a man named Dr. Liam Eckerson cured him. I've been having a hard time find anything about Dr. Eckerson that is why I need your help. Martha if you can, try and tell me what they did to him."

Martha shook her head and went back to her readings and began her exam. Jack motioned for Gwen to follow him. He looked over his shoulder at Sean. The action didn't go unnoticed by the sharpened vision of the new leader of Torchwood. She had seen Jack act that way before. It was once with Estelle and then with Ianto. She called it protective but another term emotion factored into it.

Jack's first instinct was to look out the window at the van across the street. "Did you…?" He didn't need to finish the sentence. When he looked at her, Gwen nodded.

"Mickey is going through their systems now. He is finding it rather hard, but he has found the others in the area. When you are ready, we can make the two of you disappear. Let's just hope that they don't need a report in. The girl has enough retcon in her that she won't remember anything past her first kiss. I wish I had the time to debrief her. But we don't have that, do we? Jack, who is heehe He and why are even you involved?" The question had another meaning. After all this time she still couldn't think of anyone with Jack but Ianto.

Jack surprisingly hugged her. His warmth chased some of the agony of the last four years away. She melted into his scent and held on to him with the fear that if he let go, the man that had given her so much would disappear again. She closed her eyes and let go the tears she held for him all this time.

"There, there, Gwen." He patted her back like an adult would a child. Weren't they all just children to him? It was even more so now that her four years was his two hundred more. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't stay. It hurt so much, so very much. Can you understand?" He held her tighter and kissed the top of her head. "Gwen, I loved Ianto. I never told him that." He sobbed briefly into her shoulder and she reversed roles of the child and became the soothing parent to him.

When he gained control again, he let go and moved towards the kitchen. Wiping his eyes on his shirtsleeve, he looked at her. "If I told you that Ianto's ghost led me to him would you laugh? It sounds strange. But I wouldn't have put it past Ianto to play ectoplasm matchmaker. When Lisa was well, stopped, he went to see Sean to deal with her loss. He talked about him all the time. Even made me promise that if things got bad, I would go see him. Well a lot longer than four years went by for me, Gwen and things got worse. I needed to come home, even if it hurt so much." He let his eyes water again.

For the first time, Gwen saw him as a human, almost as a lost soul, like the rest of the world was experiencing. "Jack?" She reached for him, but he sidestepped her.

"In the short time I have known Sean, he has helped me to redefine myself. Gwen, Ianto was right, and now I owe it to him to help figure out the newest man's inhumanity to man, and find out what kind of bastard tries to play god with the life of a 10 year old boy." He realized what he said; his statement was directed at himself. Oh god, was he trying to save Steven, or justify his actions with Steven? His wide eye expression went to Gwen.

She didn't need any more words from him. He was trying to atone for past sins. That was all the reason she needed for her to understand.

With that statement, he also realized that there was a very good chance he was falling in love with Sean. Ianto stood before him and smiled one of those ear-to-ear grins that made his heart melt. "Ianto, you bastard!" He said it out loud and found himself laughing.

"Jack?" Gwen's puzzled look made him giggle. He ran over and picked her up twirling her around before he landed her back on her feet. She giggled back at him.

"Gwen, it is all so simple now. I should have seen it before. Right now, let's get these plans underway. As soon as Sean is fit to travel, I want to be moving." He flashed a great big grin at her and she returned it.

After all this time, Jack still had a way of confusing the hell out of her.

End Chapter 12 TBC


	13. Chapter 13

_Pulled from the Journal of Dr Liam Eckerson_

December 1992:

At 2:35.08am this morning, the test subject Timothy Mathews expired after less then 4 months of treatment. It was my observation that the body sped itself up allowing his cancer to spread more rapidly. I wish that he didn't have to suffer the way he did. The only conclusion is that he was just not capable of holding the change to his body. I must find a test subject that is more innocent. I think that Tim's twenty years made it impossible to accept what was happening to him. He fought the change. I'm going to send Paul out to look for a child, one that can be led into a fantasy and not think of the logic behind the cure. Tim was too busy trying to understand what was happening to him. That is possibly what killed him.

I feel a young boy won't fight the change so aggressively. He will allow the process to occur with the trust of the child. Paul said he would shout if he finds one. Oh, and the closer to death the better!

If there is a right way to live, then we are all wrong. It is never easy telling someone they are dying. And it is even worst to watch them die. To hold them until the life leaves their eyes. He stood so many times helpless and watched someone die. But never him, he was always spared.

Jack watched Martha take samples of Sean's blood and tissues. She asked Sean questions. But what answer she wanted he had no way of knowing or at least he didn't have a way of explaining how was he still alive. Also there were no records of him anywhere not even the ones that Jack saw last week.

Sean seemed to be more alert and he was getting stronger. He smiled at Jack every so often while Martha prodded and pried at him. She was very tender with him and he seemed to be a little taken with her. Jack watched the banter between them. And the he thought of Ianto's first reaction to Martha, He had been a little smitten with her as well. Hey, Jack thought the same thing. She was like a big sister and best friend rolled into one. Sean was taking to her just fine.

"So Liam cured you. That is just fantastic. I don't understand how though. Sean do you remember any of it?"

"I wish I did. It is like looking in to a dirty window and all you see is shadows. You know something is there, but you can't make it out. All I know is it did hurt a lot. Liam would tell me stories to make the pain go away." He looked uncomfortable at Jack. He realized that Jack must think he was using him to ease his pain this morning. Red faced from ear to ear, he looked away from this Immortal man that was looking at him. What must be going through his head?

Jack smiled at Sean. "Hey, Sean, I understand. If I made you feel better, then I'm glad I could help."

The last words made Sean look at him really look at him. Jack was something special to wander into the life of a freak and try to help him. Sean was beginning to feel like a freak. He looked at the stranger sitting across from him in the mirror over the dresser. It was as if he was being watched by some creepy man who was really not of this world. Blood shot eyes looking out from a strikingly thin face gazed at him. Sean saw the strain of lack of sleep taking its toll from the bags under his eyes. He didn't know this man and didn't think he wanted to befriend this person.

Jack noticed the way Sean was looking at himself and it hurt him. Sean was by far an exotic being in Jack's mind. He was lanky and had wonderful youthful eyes. His inner beauty shone through even as he suffered. In Jack's mind, Sean was brave. Having to endure so much and somehow still be able to smile. In a lot of ways Jack wished Gray were around to talk to Sean. Maybe the doctor would have been able to help bring Gray back. With the Hub destroyed, Jack assumed so was Gray.

"Sean I have a question for you. If you don't want to answer you don't have to. How did you stop the bus?" Gwen's presence was sudden. Smiling, she tried to get the man to relax. She almost thought of him as younger than herself. That was not the case. He was older then her. So why did he seem younger? Or maybe it was just his attitude. If he matured outside society that would make sense, yet according to Jack he had a professional practice, so he had to function on some adult level. It didn't help, that unlike what Jack reported finding, at some point all of who ever Sean Knowlens was, seemed to have been purged from the system. Thank god Jack had kept a hard copy of the file.

"I didn't stop the bus. I've been thinking about it since I got back. It was more like I stopped time around the bus. So it just stopped. I really don't have a better way of describing it. But that is how I killed Liam, I was so mad at him. He was lying to me and I knew it. But I didn't kill him myself; I let time do it for me. I could see the accident before it happened. I accelerated Liam through time to the end of the accident. He was dead before the accident occurred. It was weird but until today, I had no idea that I could do this. I must be regaining my memories. I'm sure we were working on these things before he died. I mean before I killed him." A tear fell down Sean's cheek as he glanced out the window to darkened night.

The group fell silent, taking in Sean's words. Controlling single events in time. Jack was trying to come up with a way it was possible. It was not unheard of that some people were affected by time differently. Bilis for example, he could walk in and out of times. But to take a single moment, to see it, and then change it - the uses for such a talent were numerous. Was whomever Liam was working for trying to invent a time manipulator that could stop or start things from happening? What was the extent of Sean's power and how far could he go with it? One more thought crossed his mind. Who were they really up against now?

"Jack it is so like you to come back and make life more hectic. Like I don't have enough to do. We have someone who can stop time. My life just gets to be more and more of a challenge." Gwen rolled her eyes at her former boss and smiled. He was not looking at all happy, but lost in thought.

"Well from my primary test, I can tell you that he has been genetically changed. This type of gene manipulation is advanced." Martha handed Sean some tea. "The tea seems to help your recovery."

With that statement Sean began to laugh. "Really, it is a placebo. It does nothing. Liam use to tell me it would help, I think after awhile I just assumed it did. Those pills over there." He pointed to the nightstand. Martha picked up the bottle. "Analyze them for me. I think that Paul may be trying to poison me. That is not the regular sleeping pill I take. He said he was giving me something stronger. I don't have cancer again, do I?"

"No, outside of your weight, you are healthy. Is the weight loss normal or do you have a disorder?"

He smiled so warmly at her that her cheeks grew hot. "I can't answer that, I just don't eat sometimes. But right now I'm starving. I feel a lot better now." He looked at Jack with those warm eyes and smiled. "Where's my Da? He isn't back yet."

"Don't worry Sean, he is being protective." Gwen reassured the super hero who saved her son. To her that is what he would always be.

"How did you know he left?" Jack gave her a puzzled look.

As she went to leave the room, she smiled. "Jack, we are Torchwood. There is nothing we don't know." Laughing, he followed after her.

Mickey was in every back door of every system he could imagine. But trying to find out whom Torchwood was dealing with was a nightmare. Andy was trying his best to help but the guy just wasn't computer savvy. He was "all thumbs", when it came down to it. And he tried to make conversation. After all that Mickey had been through, Andy just seemed like a dolt.

"I have to say that Alice Carter is a looker. Gwen had me trail her the other day. She must have caught wind of me; she just disappeared before my eyes. I have to admit, I could fancy her." He nodded his head and went back to the task at hand.

"Are you mad? She is Jack's daughter. As if he'd let you livelong enough, do you think he would let you near her? And the prospect of you as his son in-law, please, is just damn frightening." Mickey kept in the laughter as he viewed Andy's discomfort. He was riding the ex PC as far as he could take it. He needed to have a little fun.

"Jack's daughter? Oh, I guess I didn't mean it then. I hope Jack won't take it personal like." Somewhere in Andy's voice was regret.

"Hey it's okay, we all say and do dumb things." Mickey realized that Andy was serious

about Alice and let the conversation go at that.

Jack was cooking and it was freaking Gwen out. "When the hell did you go domestic?"

"Gwen, what do you think, Ianto and I never cooked? We use to warm things up more then just in the bedroom, my dear!" He winked at her, causing her to slap his arm.

"Damn it Jack, can't you be serious for a minute? I want to talk to you about Liam Eckerson and Sean Knowlens for a moment. Did you know that they were not legally married? There is no record of it. Also, Sean's records vanished right before my eyes. It reminded me of the first time we met and Ianto wiped my computer. One moment it was there the next it was gone. Another thing is the time anomaly. What bought that up? The event surrounding Liam's death is undetermined because outside of a grave, all of the events in Liam's life have been erased. And Sean's are gone as well. But I do have the reading around the time Sean stopped the bus. There was a minuet spike in the rift, not enough for the detector to trip but it left a little mark. Do you think he can stop time?"

"I think that is the way he perceives it. Can you get that can of peas out of the cupboard and are you staying for dinner? It is just hamburgers but I guess that is okay. He's got real meat!" He rounded the patties and then molded them. It was the smell of cooking meat in a sizzling pan that bought Gwen around.

"Sure, I would love to. But Jack what are you going to do?"

"You brought what I asked you, and then you should know the answer. Run. I hope the car you got me is nice. I really want something fast. Oh and here is the copy of the missing Sean file." He wiped his hands a handed her the disc out of his pocket.

"Sorry all we could get you is a Cooper." He scowled at her. "Jack it isn't easy you know. It isn't like the old days. We get by with spit and glue. Learn to live with it, the gift horse is on its way to the glue factory."

"Gwen Williams and wit, now I know that Dorothy is not in Kansas anymore." She smacked him again but gave him a hand setting the table.

The smell of food cooking made Sean's stomach rumble. He got out of bed and went to head for the kitchen. "I'm so hungry."

Martha made no effort to stop him. The patient that had been very ill a half hour ago was now running to get food. She would rather see that and have him gain weight. Anyway, his fever was gone and all other vitals were normal. She put her samples and tools away and went to the kitchen see if that smell was indeed real meat.

"I so hungry!" Sean slid up next to Jack, drooling. "Is it almost food yet?" He looked like a little kid, just waiting to eat, with no self-control.

"Oi! Shouldn't you be in bed sick?" Jack flashed a pleased grin at the younger man.

"Only if your cooking sucks!" He got a glass of water and went to sit next to Gwen. Just then Peter came in and was shocked to see his son at the table and joking around. "Da!"

He ran to hug his father and placed him in his seat next to Gwen. He took the seat next to Martha and they waited for their meal.

"Here it is, £10,000. I can get more, as soon as the banks open. To avoid detection, I could give it to Gwen in the future and she could get it to you. Where will you go?"

"Da, how did you manage all that? That is a lot of ATM money." He frowned at his father. Jack handed Sean his plate first. Without even waiting for the others, he inhaled the meal present to him.

Peter was titling his head at his son. "Sean you shouldn't eat to fast." Sean barely grunted in response and continued to eat. "To answer you question, if you are listening. I called in some favors and the rest came from ATM's, I just hope it goes unnoticed." He was afraid that the paranoia of the authorities would start an inquiry.

Martha watched her patient eat and protectively moved her plate over a bit after it was placed down on the table. There was something in Sean's eyes that suggested he would pounce on her if she didn't eat it fast enough. "Does he always eat like this?" It was a professional question.

"No, this started since he met Jack. It was hard to get even the least bit of food to pass his mouth," Peter responded.

"Don't worry about the authorities, Peter. We covered your tracks for you." Gwen threw out into the conversation as she dove into her food.

"Nice!" Jack commented at his former team member. "I taught you well, Gwen."

"Well Mickey and you. Everyone was a source of learning. But I'm glad of it. We have not found it easy." She stared at Sean who began to lick his plate.

"More?" He said like a child.

Jack cracked up at the cuteness. "What's that special magic word Sean?"

"Ha, ha, please sir, may I have more?" Sounding very much like a Dickensian character he even batted his eyes at the Captain and looked like a starving orphan.

Jack's electric smile sought out Sean. He reached first to brush the hair out of the young man's eyes and then for the plate. The other three-dinner guest took the gesture at face value. Jack was being tender because he cared for the young man. Peter saw it as affection. Martha perceived it as love. Gwen saw Jack healing.

Sean's heart found a home in his throat. He was aware of the change in temperature in the room. Also, there was that scent that Jack seemed to emit. He breathed it in and flushed. If Jack noticed he pretended not to. The others didn't say anything. Sean was afraid to get up. He was suddenly excited. He fought himself for control and won when the food was delivered in front of him. The moment was lost because of the need for the body to eat.

The chatter was simple at first, but then it got to the point at hand. Jack was taking Sean out of the city until they could figure out what was going on and who was really behind Liam's mad scientist ideas.

Peter cleaned the dishes and Martha dried. Sean got some things together in the bedroom. He was told to pack at least a few weeks worth of stuff. Gwen and Jack sat in the living room and talked. She had one thing to run past him. It was not so much that she doubted herself; it was that she needed to talk to her mentor to see if she was handling it right.

"Alice Carter asked for Torchwood's help."

The name hung in front of Jack. "The World's Child. Let me guess, she wants Torchwood to 'fix it.'" So much her father's daughter, yet so diluted into thinking that Steven's advancement in to icon-ship could be fixed. "And you said yes. What else could you say? And you want me to what, run to her and beg for forgiveness? I'm not nearly at that point yet. Give me maybe another two hundred years and I will think about it. She turned her back on me, when I needed her the most, Gwen." He looked at his prodigy and smiled. "Not that I would have done the same thing, turn my back if the roles were reversed. I'm not getting involved, Gwen. I don't think I will have the time."

To the average person who didn't know Jack Harkness, he would appear to be a thirty something guy. To the trained Torchwood agent eye especial one who paid a lot of attention to Jack, he seemed thousands of years older. And he looked so tired.

"I just thought I would mention it." She wandered over to the TV to watch the news report on Sean's "act of an angel" as the press named it.

"We have yet to find out the name of the hero who with sheer will of strength stopped a bus and saved the life of a young boy. The boy himself is still unknown." BBC1 replayed the footage again. Even slowing it down it was still hard to figure out how it was done.

"They are saying it is a hoax done by Torchwood to get calls. Some kind of publicity stunt, that was the word from the street when I was out." Peter came in wiping his hands on the dishtowel. "To think my Sean is a hero. I'm so proud."

"Don't be too proud Da, I don't want some of your friends to know it was me and please not Mum, Helen or Paul, not that my siblings would care." As always he masked the pain of their rejection. "Oh I need take my laptop. I have patient reports to do. I guess there is no way I can give Norma the heads up?" He seemed hopeful.

"Sean, I don't think that would be a good idea about Norma." Jack suggested and took a moment to look at the soggy doctor. "You took a shower?"

"Yeah, is something wrong with that?" He widened his eyes at the statement. " I kind of smelled from the fever. Did you want to sit in a car with me for god knows how long, breathing in my stink?" His smile melted something inside Jack.

"I like your stink, if you don't mind me saying. It was very attractive." The rest of the group snickered at the comment.

"Yeah, says one cow to another…" Sean's voice trailed off as he went into the bedroom. "Oh and I have a few books and some other stuff to do while we are "hiding" and a disc of films as well. Do you need anything Jack? You don't have any clothes with you."

Need was all he could think of with the mop wet hair of Sean's clinging to his thin face and his lips that looked even redder then before pouted at him, waiting for his reply. Jack fought for control. "No thanks, Gwen took care of that. I suppose my stuff is in the Cooper?" He smiled tightly at the thought of the tiny car.

She nodded at him. "And the other things you asked for as well. I think that you should go soon. It is almost 11:00, you don't want to be sticking out like a sore thumb on the road." She went to hug Jack. He seemed to hold her tighter than usual.

"Thank you and you too, Martha." He picked her up and spun her around.

Giggling, she said. "Take care of yourself and you to Sean." She kissed him on the cheek. "Leave all the medical stuff for me. We'll figure this out. Both of you take care of each other."

Sean stared at his Da. There was not a day in so many years that he was not some part of his life. He would not even know what was happening to him. Sean was going to ask if he could come with them. Peter spoke his mind first. "No Sean, it is better I stay here. You need to fly for a little bit. You never had that chance to do that before." He grabbed his son in an emotional embrace. When they broke apart, they started to walk to the car.

Through the back entrance and unto the street, they found the Cooper a block away from the condo. Sean's father stayed behind to tidy up and make it look like Sean just vanished. With the hugs and goodbyes finished, they were on their way to the great wide unknown.

"Where are we heading, Jack?" Sean was very excited about the journey. There was not a tint of fear or uncertainty in his voice.

Jack looked at him as he headed for the road out of Cardiff. "Oh, it's a treat. We are not heading there directly. I don't want to take any chances that we are being followed. So let the Captain fly you there. I make sure we land safely." He reached for Sean's hand. And Sean reached for his. The clasping of the hands of two just about strangers made this seem more like a romantic adventure then an escape from the authorities.

With all that said the music of EELS "Daisies of the Galaxy" drifted out of the car and into the night.

_February 1993_:

_I found a boy today. Or rather Paul found him. After we met in the hotel for our special "lunch" he took me over to the pathetic, dying kid. The truth be told, despite the illness he had, he was stunning. He had large hazel eyes and the cutest pout. Must not get attached to this one. I could start this and he would just die. But there is a spark in this one. His father is a loser. So I promised him the world for the boy. Like they all do, having money is more important than their children. Though, Mr. Knowlens really loves his boy Sean. In a strange way I envy them. Of course I found out Sean is of "special issue" so he just may be the one. _

End Chapter 14 TBC

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	14. Chapter 14

Wednesday morning 5:30am

The sun rose over the hill in what reminded Jack as an author's moment when they described the picture perfect sunrise as the hero was having a profound moment. The hero was long dead. The moment should never be profound, only enjoyed or remembered. The sun caught the brown highlights in Sean's hair. That was a moment to remember. A young man smiling at the new dawn.

The cottage that Jack owned was just like he had said, in the middle of nowhere. They had passed through a small town that Jack said they could get some supplies. He said if all went well they might even go out to eat there.

"I think I would like that. I love the country. It reminds me of being a kid." Sean opened the window and stuck his head out; waving at all they passed by like this was a regular holiday. He upped the volume on the radio, much to Jack's displeasure. It was after all a song Jack just didn't like, but with Sean's shining face and him trying desperately to sing it, Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" suddenly took on a new meaning for Jack. He laughed and sang along with Sean. They were still singing as they pulled into the gravel driveway and Jack bought the mini Cooper to a dusty stop.

Just about falling out of the car from his legs being asleep from sitting for so long, Sean pulled himself out and stretched. He could hear the popping of muscles in his back. "I wonder if they have a chiropractor around here."

Jack stuck his head out of the car and emerged breathing in the fresh air. "I could always walk on your back later; oh I've been told that I give killer massages." The blush he bought to Sean's cheeks was breathtaking. He smirked at the effect he had on the young man at that moment and continued with his greeting to the country. "Nothing like it. Fresh air, wild flowers and the ever present smell of cow shit. I love the country." He thought of Owen's distaste for the great outdoors and how his own poor judgment almost lost his whole team a lot sooner than he had.

He remembered Ianto's bloody forehead as he sat alone by the ambulance, not even looking in Jack's direction. Just that afternoon they had been uneasy over Gwen's snogging game. Ianto simply said the last person he kissed was Lisa. How awkward they had all been around him. The truth was that Jack was the last person that Mr. Jones had kissed. It was five hours before the camping trip and it was after Ianto and him had been at it all night. And as always, it involved a lot of mixed emotions. He sighed, thinking back on that time with a wave of regret.

With the neutral expression on his face, he retrieved the bags from the back of the Cooper. Sean just observed his friend. "You need a little help?" He asked and went to take a bag from Jack's full arms.

"I got it Sean; you still haven't fully recovered..." It was his turn to slightly blush at the nearness of the doctor.

"I feel perfectly fine. I won't take no for an answer. Come on; show me this palace of yours." He jogged the bags over to the kitchen entrance. Spotting a bluebird he watched it as he heard Jack curse at bring the wrong keys. Without a second though, Sean reached about the doorsill and grabbed the key up there. He smiled warmly at Jack.

"Let me guess, I should have remembered." He felt like kissing the young man next to him. He thought better of the idea.

"Everyone hides a key Jack; you just seem to be an over the sill type of guy." He flashed teeth with that smile. Jack laughed and fought the weathered lock to get the door open. With a squeak of the door, they were inside. The kitchen was spacious and faded white. It was very country in its appearance. But it was filthy from disuse and it needed to be aired out. Sean sneezed and Jack giggled.

"You're cute when you do that," he stated as he tried to open the window. "Damn, it must be warped!" He struggled and pounded and shouted at it. "Fuck it! I'll just shoot it."

Before he could get his gun out, Sean went over and tapped both sides with his fist and opened it. Jack stood there staring at the man with many tricks up his shelves. "Are you magic or something?"

Sean laughed strongly and shook his head no. "No magic, just had one of these in the hospital and it was the only way to open it," he stated simply as he wiped his hands on an old dishcloth that was stiff from disuse. He began to explore the rest of the place.

The floor plan was simple. Off the kitchen were the dining room and sitting room. Nothing formal, just a very simple lay out with chairs and a nice big couch. There was a large fireplace that took up the whole back wall. Sean assumed that there are no modern conveniences here. So the fireplace was the source of heat. The stove in the kitchen he also noticed was wood burning. There was a large window overlooking a very overgrown garden. Sean just gazed at it as Jack came up next to him and peered out the window.

"There use to be all kinds of plants out there. My wife, she liked to garden. It helped keep her mind off of me being away from home. Torchwood kept me busy. She didn't feel so lonely then with tending the garden. Sometimes I can hear her when I come here. She would hum a lot. Always out of tune, and never with any sense of rhythm. It was 1901 when we were married." He left Sean's side to reflect a bit. He was quite too quiet, as he got lost in old memories.

Sean was feeling like a doctor now and just waited for Jack to collect his thoughts. He felt confused as well. The feelings he was experiencing were a little on the jealous side. He decided that he was just a little put out and continued to wait on Jack.

When it seemed like Jack was not going to speak to him, Sean made a daring move. As a doctor he knew sometimes you have to force the patient to speak. "Jack, I'm sorry," He approached the Immortal like he was a hurt animal. "Maybe this wasn't the best of places to go. There was a little inn we passed. Maybe we could go there instead?"

Jack looked at him and his features softened. "No, I'm sorry." He gave a smile, which went straight to the pit of Sean's stomach. "It is just like for so many of them, I couldn't help her. We were married less then two years. Elaine was the prettiest girl in the world. I was just in awe and I wanted to be normal. To have a normal life, that was outside the madness of Torchwood. Can you understand that?' Jack looked into Sean's wondrous hazel eyes and smiled. He was something, really something.

"Yes, I think I can understand. I dreamed of that all the time with Liam. A place like this, away from the hospital. Oh and my practice. But all things have their reasons Jack, even you." My immortal he finished in his thoughts though the word he wanted was lover. That title wasn't to be seen yet. But Sean was becoming increasingly hot and aware of the effect that Jack seemed to have on him. But like all new things, he was very scared. He didn't want to lose the friendship. It had been so long since he had that. He never remembered ever having a friend outside of Liam.

"I wasn't here when they found her. Torchwood had put me on assignment. It was typical we had a fight at the time as well. She wanted me to stay. She kind of knew about Torchwood, thought it was some spy group working for the government. She wanted a family, I didn't. I didn't know where I was going to end up next. I shouldn't have married her. But I was trying so hard to fit in," Jack said. He was near tears. He sucked in his breath and continued. "Where I come from, marriage is a strange custom. It isn't so confining or controlling as it is now. Well, it has improved somewhat. At least you can marry a man if you're a man now a day. Multi relationships, I still don't get why people have a problem with that."

"You're talking about the future, the 51st century? I would hope it would be more open. Jack, what happened to Elaine? You stopped short of that." Sean the man regretted saying that, but to Sean the doctor, it was necessary to help Jack through the emotions he was feeling.

"She went out riding and the horse was spooked. I shot him when I got home. I couldn't look at him. God, I'm such a mess, aren't I?" He wiped his tears on the sleeves of his sweatshirt. Sean walked closer and handed him a handkerchief. His hand stayed touching Sean's for a brief moment. Looking into the hazel ocean of the doctor's soul, Jack spoke about his wife's death. It was something he never told anyone, not even Ianto. The horse threw her and she lay there dying for three days. So they thought when someone finally found her. "No one was there for her, I was so far away." He turned and walked out of the house, down a path to the pasture way beyond the cottage.

Sean didn't follow; he didn't feel it was his right. He didn't know where he stood with Jack at the moment. The doctor side won and let the patient think and regroup his emotions. It worked better that way. Besides, Sean had taken up too much of Jack's time. He sighed and went about the place, looking at the cobwebs. It was time to start cleaning and making this home a bit more presentable. After all, he didn't know how long they were exiled here for so they might as well make the best of it. Now, if he could figure out where to get water, he thought to himself.

Jack wandered for some time. He loved this path; it was her path, they used to walk it on summer nights and make love in the glen at the end. He had buried her in the glen. The beauty of the natural landscape surrounded her. It was at the glen that Ianto and he had had that terrible fight. Ianto wanted simply to know whom Elaine Harkness was after they had stumbled upon her grave. But because Jack wouldn't talk about his past, Ianto had become aggravated at Jack's evasive maneuvers. That night, the young Welshman slept in the car. They left in the morning, neither talking about what had happened.

"I was just trying to not remember, Ianto. You never understood. That maybe, just maybe I wanted us to remain pure of my past. That wasn't good enough for you. It never would be. You needed it all so you could worry at it like a bad tooth. God, sometimes I just hated you. But not as much as I loved you, I should have a least said that to you," Jack said out loud, voicing emotions he had never spoken before.

He strayed down a different path and lost track of time. Even though he was once a time agent and was taught how to sense time, the immortal in him had started to see time in a different light. He had eternity, he could lose track of a few hours here and there.

With much effort Sean was able to pull water from the pump out back. Not saying much for the look of it, he a least had enough of a basic science background to know that this water was not good for drinking or washing. He thought and hoped that if he boiled and strained it, they may be able to use it for drinking. Then it hit him, he closed his eyes and focused away from the sound of the birds to the sound of rushing water. A stream was right behind the house. Running to the small flowing source of water, he caught sight of a baby bird just sitting in the small area of the grass about a foot from the stream. It looked very similar to the bluebird he had seen when they first arrived.

Sean went in to examine it a little closer and noticed that it had fallen out of its nest and was not yet ready to fly. The bird looked up at him and chirped sadly. Sean knew that it was not going to make it. Tears fell from his eyes; it was hopeless and he knew it. There was just no way of even helping something that nature had a plan for from the forming of this little bird. It was one of those things where one was not allowed to help out with the evolutionary path.

It craned its neck up at Sean and let out a chirp, it was scared to be alone and didn't know what was happening to it. "I was once like you, little bird. I was alone and scared of dying. I had help. He saved my life." The words that fell out of his mouth slapped Sean in the face, waking him up. "Wait, hang on, I might be able to help!" For the first time outside of his early days with his patients he felt like he could do something.

He studied for a moment, kind of gauging what he had to do. It was in theory, workable. But would he be able to age the bird enough to bring it to maturity and allow it a fighting chance? Sean felt the control of time surging within him.

"I really have to come up with a better name for the ability I have." He gently touched the bird. A small glow surrounded the bird for a brief moment and with the lapse of just a moment, the little bluebird was standing and singing at Sean. It looked at him, jutting its head back and forth and right before Sean's eyes, it flew off.

Panting from the little use of energy Sean smiled up at the sky. The cool stream calmed his slightly aching head and he sipped the sweet water. For the first time in many years, he was happy he was alive.

End Chapter 14


	15. Chapter 15

**Warning**: minor sexual act suggested a long with minor foreplay suggested. Nothing that I thought warranted a rating change. If any one disagrees, let me know and I will change the rating on the story. Please feel free to review the story as well; I just want to know if people do like it. Thank you for reading!!

The breeze wove its way through the open window as the fresh cool early summer afternoon caressed Sean's face as he lay on the couch in the sitting room. A smile teased his lips as he drifted in an out of a sleepy haze. In the kitchen, there were sounds of movement. Jack must have returned. It was about time; Sean had been alone forever, it seemed. Jack's leaving was what Jack needed to do. Was it up to Sean to interfere with Jack and his demons? If that was what Jack wanted from him, then yes. But it was Jack's next move, not his.

The breeze whisked around the room and Sean stretched, trying to get the kinks out of his back. Yawning, he cracked his eyes open and was startled to see a man's shadow in the haze of sleepiness.

"Jack!!!! You scared the shit out of me! You could have at least told me you were there!"

Warm blue bedroom eyes stared down at Sean. "You looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you." He knelt down beside Sean and ran his hand over the sleepy hot cheek.

The room temperature went up as Sean felt the blood run to the toy between his legs. He was breathing erratically as Jack stared into his eyes. "Did you have a nice walk?" Was the weak response that stammered out of his mouth. He wanted to move but Jack's gaze left him powerless.

"It was nicer coming back here. You out did yourself. It looks lived in again." He continued to stroke Sean's cheek. With little motion of an almost unearthly creature, he shifted his body closer to Sean. His smell wrapped around the room with the breeze floating in from the outside. Jack positioned himself inches from Sean's mouth.

Sean was dying from the tension and his pants grew uncomfortable. Jack's breath smelled like cloves and though he had kissed him before, the excitement was never as powerful as this. He ventured a question before total surrender. "What is it that you want, Jack?" He held his own breath and waited for the reply.

Inching closer with a caress on his cheek the wicked smile responded, "You, I want you," With that, Sean gave in and Jack took his mouth in a sweet kiss that grew strength as it grew longer.

"I want you, too," he moaned when the kiss broke.

CRASH!!! "Shit, Fuck, I can't believe I did that." The words came from a distance.

The breeze hit Sean's body and made him shiver. He jumped up from the bed. "What the fuck?" He wasn't on the couch, but upstairs. The bed was half made and he was sprouting wood from under his sweatpants. "Oh god, that was a dream!" He ached for release. The smells from Jack's cooking didn't abate the discomfort that remained from the dream.

Was that bacon cooking? The other problem won as Sean took care of it in the bathroom.

He stood away from the doorway and hid. After what he did with Jack on his mind, he was really uneasy about being near the Immortal. He was just about to leave by the garden door, when he heard Jack ask "Are you going to stand there or aren't you hungry?" The truth be, told he wasn't hungry. At least not for food, was how he saw it.

With a lot of effort, he walked into the kitchen. Jack's smile was one of peace. Whatever had been bothering him, he put it aside, at least for now. "On my walk I found a farm and was able to buy some eggs, milk, butter and bacon. The farmwife was happy that someone was back at the old place again. She gave us some bread. I know it is a little late for breakfast, but it is really fresh." Blue eyes shone their glee at the surprise he had.

Jack was grinning ear to ear and Sean was feeling more and more uncomfortable. He leaned up against the wall and looked at the floor. "I was just finishing upstairs when I fell asleep. I guess I was tired." He gulped back the image of the dream. "I hope you didn't mind the clean up, I just thought that it would be nice to feel more homey." He looked past Jack and out the window.

"It was fantastic to come home to this. I didn't know you were this domestic! But I guess that being married; you had to do some housework." He laughed loudly to see if he could get Sean to shake whatever had happened to him out of his system.

The word home didn't escape Sean. It went straight to his heart and the pain began. He was not too happy with himself and he knew if he didn't get away now, he would say something stupid. "Thank you," he said in a flat and emotionless voice.

Jack turned his attention to the food and frowned when Sean couldn't see. The feelings that Jack was having were in turmoil. Half of him wanted to run and hug Sean; the other half knew it was a big mistake to get involved. "Well have a seat and I'll serve it up."

"I bought you a present, well I found the case file I have on Ianto Jones." A fork dropped on the counter. "I forgot that I used to make cured patients do a farewell video. It was for studying at a later date. I was going to do a paper on some cases that my methods worked on. Maybe shoot for a grant. Liam was right, it was a stupid idea." His voice was barely a whisper with the last thought.

"Sean what is it? Please sit down and eat." It sounded too much like Liam. All Sean wanted was to run for the door. He was becoming sick again.

"I left my laptop on the coffee table ready with the video. I'm really not hungry." He finally met Jack's eyes. Scratching his head he walked to the kitchen door. Before he could turn the doorknob, Jack had his wrist. "Just let me go, please. I'm sorry I ruined your meal. Maybe it will keep."

Jack wanted nothing more then to hug this man to take him in his arms and tell him that everything was going to be okay. "Maybe you should just lie down, you were a little restless when I was upstairs before. This whole change has been a little overwhelming." To himself Jack added, 'and then without a thought to your own emotions you hand my lover back to me when I am trying to heal. But for you Sean I will watch it and I will let you go. Just please don't wander too far away. I may need to cry on you later. Or that little something else that has you all worked up, you may need me to learn on.' He released Sean's wrist and went back to the food.

The smell of bacon cooking filled the air, making Sean salivate. He held onto the knob sighed. "So much for the dramatic exit. I'm starved!" He bolted to the table and waited for Jack to serve him the food.

Jack's inviting grin, he laughed at the young man with the napkin tucked into his shirt with his knife and fork in hand. Jack was falling, he just hope it wouldn't hurt when he landed.

With the breakfast finished and a joint clean up accomplished, Sean went to get some firewood while Jack watched the video. Hearing Ianto's voice made Jack smile. Those beautiful Welsh vowels, the way he rolled his eyes. There was even a slight red glow of discomfort on his face. Definitely not the young man that Ianto had become, but Jack couldn't forget the gawkiness of this Ianto either. He seemed so shy and vulnerable after Lisa's death. He barely talked about that; he mainly focused on other things.

"God, I hate doing these things, I always get tongue tied. I really hate the way I sound," Ianto began. God, Jack thought. He could never get tired of listening to that voice.

"I loved Lisa. I guess it is goodbye now; I should have let go of her a long time ago. It never felt like the right thing to do. I would hate to have it done it me. I could be dying and left alone, the one that I loved not near me. That would bother me. I just hope that when it is my time, that my kindness towards safe guarding Lisa is not forgotten and someone helps me out of this world and into whatever is next. Some say there is nothing after this. I still don't believe that.

"And if by chance that someone could be Jack, then maybe this world is not a cruel and inhuman place. I would gladly die for him, with him, and in his arms. I hope that somehow he feels the same. But…" He smiled at the camera, "I will never know that. He was not meant for me. In a lot of ways I don't think he was meant for anyone." He laughed and scrunched up his face, eyes slanted away for a moment before he looked into the camera again and the truth fell out of his mouth. "I love him so very much, and I know somewhere in his heart there is a little soft spot for me. It can be micro in comparison to my place. But it is there." He sighed and went to finish his monologue.

"If Jack needs someone, I'm going to tell him to talk to you, Dr. Knowlens. This way, he can have some one to tell those black secrets to. I'm sure he has so many. I know some of them. I don't think he would like it if I told him what I knew!"

The video stopped and Jack watched the dead air for some time. He heard Sean in the kitchen and waited a few moments before moving. It seemed that he was feeling suddenly old. His body dragged from the weight of many lifetimes now and many lost lives that he knew. Ianto Jones was the name of the man he used to love. No, one of the many that he still loved and would always love, just like the rest of them. In his mind forever, the faces of his lovers, the ones that mattered. He stopped to admire the sitting room. Sean fixed it up so that it looked nice. There were even wild flowers in the vases. The chilly night air was coming in through the window. 'I'll start a fire.' he thought. Bending down, he habitually stacked wood into the fireplace and watched the flames lick the kindling.

Sometime later when the light had faded outside and the bluebird that was singing outside the window since he got back went to sleep, a hand touched his shoulder. Jack jumped, because the touch for just a moment had felt like Elaine. The smell was Sean, though. He rubbed his cheek on the hand and then placed his own on it. "Sean," was all he managed to say.

Sean knelt behind him and wrapped the other arm around his waist. He rested his head on Jack's back. "Jack, I wish I could help." He rubbed his nose into Jack's familiar scent.

"Oh Sean, you have. I… just being here and doing just that is enough, more than enough." Jack turned his body around, away from the blazing fire. It didn't take much for the two to be kissing. Neither one of them backed down as the wave of passion took hold of them. In moments it was apparent to the two that this was going to be more than just a kiss. The fire blazed and they began to sweat from the heat. Jack's hand managed to find its way under Sean's T-shirt and remove it. Sean pulled back a little as if he were repulsed by Jack's touch.

"Sean, what's the matter? We don't have to do this," Jack whispered as he pulled back to give Sean space.

Sean's eyes were wide. "No, I just want to keep my shirt on. I hate my body; there is something not right with it. I'm too thin." He looked away from the Immortal man that wanted him. A soft blush appeared and was enhanced by the firelight.

"Oh Sean, there is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with you. Please, I want to feel your skin. Our skin touching would be so amazing." Jack eased Sean's insecurity by kissing his shoulders lightly, and then gently tracing kisses long his collarbone and up the sides of his neck. He stopped and grabbed a little of his earlobe and tugged lightly at it.

Sean relaxed and moaned, exposing his neck to Jack who went to work on it. The next thing Sean did, was place his hands under Jack's shirt feeling the heat from his skin. He rather quickly began to blindly work on his buttons. "Jack, why did you have to wear a buttoned shirt? You're just making it more difficult." He giggled as Jack licked the inside of his ear. "Jack, you're making it impossible to say no right now."

"Then don't!" Hot breath blew in Sean's wet ear, sending a shiver down to his groin area. " I wonder if you would mind laying down? I want to explore a little."

"Huh?" The doctor blinked at Jack. "Ah yeah, sure." He began undoing his own pants, which Jack would have none of - he wanted to unwrap the rest of Sean. Jack's hands magical pulled Sean's pant's off, leaving him exposed to the world.

"You don't wear underwear?"

"No, never did." Sean broke from the mesmerizing effect Jack had to look deep into the Immortal's eyes. "Never felt the need. Does it bother you?"

"No, I just never expected… it." He was looking not at Sean, but his lower region.

"I'm glad you approve." Sean smirked when he gathered that Jack was indeed approving of him.

"Nothing fazes you. You are completely comfortable with this." He smiled and ran his hand over Sean's flat stomach, stopping just above his groin. He leaned in to kiss the relaxed man. "Now that I see you, Sean, you are amazing."

The kiss grew hotter as Sean's body sought out contact with any part of Jack it could reach. In a moment Jack was naked as well, and the fire was warming their bodies on the cold floor.

Kiss after kiss, touch to touch, they matched each other. Jack was not concerned about Sean's reaction at the beginning. It was obvious by the foreplay that it was not even on the young man's mind any more. They joined easily enough. Each trying to please the other first, which could sometime end in disaster, only ended in both finishing at the same time. Jack cuddled his head against Sean's thin torso and traced patterns in his skin. The sweat from each other was cooling and the later night air made them shiver as the fire died.

"I made the bed and cleaned the upstairs. Do you want to go to bed, Jack?" Sean kissed the Immortal's hand as it lazily came passed his mouth.

"Humm…don't want to move. I don't know if I can yet. That was incredible." He pushed himself up enough to get to Sean's lips. He confirmed his feelings with his kiss.

Smiling, Sean agreed with the shake of the head. "They say that it only gets better from here." Sean giggled at Jack's raised eyebrow. Quickly he wiggled out from under Jack and ran upstairs, body a pale thin streak in the moonlight.

Jack chuckled at the youth in the man he just had made love to and ran after him. The moon grew brighter as the country became used to the night.

End Chapter 15 TBC


	16. Chapter 16

"_Are you going to let go of me at some point?" Warm lips brushed a soft part of the body._

"_Not if I can help it." The hands grip on to bed sheets as pleasure takes hold. _

"_Jack, oh god, you know what this does to me. I become so powerless to resist." Ianto's head leans back on the pillow and he moans his satisfaction at Jack's abilities to tease with his tongue. _

"_If only you could see yourself, really see yourself, Jones, Ianto Jones. You are morning pale as snow, so wonderful in your need. Am I'm all it takes to satisfy you?" Jack stopped and waited for a response. Any would do as long as it wasn't the one that scared Jack Harkness the most. Fear built up in sweat beads on the back of his neck as he waited for what seemed longer than his potential life span. Jack was afraid, for once over his feelings. Did he just suggest something to Ianto?_

"_I have never felt this satisfied in my life Jack. You make me want more, so much more. But I will take what you give. For now at least, I might want more later." He smirked at his lover and patiently waited for Jack to finish what he started. _

_Jack's loving smile caressed Ianto's body, stopping to gaze at his face and then return his tongue to where it last was. He was indeed a lucky man on so many levels, this Welshman made sure of that. _

The journal of Liam Eckerson

07 March 1993

4:03am

I just left young Sean. He was sick all night. I have successfully eradicated his immune system and started rebuilding him from scratch. I have extracted enough energy from the Cardiff Rift to begin to rebuild him with time as the key component. I know it sounds horribly science fiction like, but the discovery of the Rift via UNIT who was tipped off by Torchwood, was a blessing for my research. I will have to thank Paul later in our usual spot.

It is simple. We begin the body again by infusing it with the energy from the Rift, technically resetting the body to where it was at birth. The problem is that it is very painful and it makes the patient very ill every time there is an energy spike from within his body. I am not sure what happens when the rift itself acts up. But I can't wait to find out.

Sean is constantly ill. He can't seem to do anything but lose weight. But there is nothing wrong with him; it might be a normal reaction to the stress his body is going through. The strange thing is, he is healthy. The cancer is disappearing right before my eyes. I've stayed with him more and more as I've monitored the results. It's strange, how with some lab rats you just start to like and feel for them in a way. He has these round eyes and he rarely complains at all. Just turns pale when it hurts and scrunches his eyes shut. He also grabs the blanket with his little hands, so small and delicate they are. I was holding one tonight as he drifted off to sleep. He would crush my hand with every wave of pain. And judging by the strength of the grip, it was agony. He never once cried out. He fell asleep to one of my stories. Yes I think I could fall for this lab rat!

_The middle of nowhere 4 years A456:_

Jack was awoken by the sound of the bluebird singing outside the window. He groaned at his slumber being disturbed. It had been a while since he had slept so soundly. Remembering why made him grin even before he opened his eyes. He felt around for Sean. After all, mornings were all ways good for more than breakfast and the paper. But Sean wasn't there.

Jack bolted up and said out loud. "Sean!" He didn't hear anything except for that annoying bird. He pulled the blankets off and found a pair of boxers at the bottom of the bed. Strange, he didn't remember putting them there. He padded downstairs, calling out Sean's name as he went along. No response. He went to the kitchen to find fresh coffee on the stove and a note. "Out in the garden, why don't you join me? S"

Jack went to the sitting room and found Sean in the garden as promised. The sun was rising in the sky and Sean was ripping weeds out of the back of the garden. The rest of the yard was already done. Jack was impressed with the way the garden looked cleaned up. It was missing something though. "You work fast. How long have you been at this?"

Sean jumped a little at Jack's voice. He was lost in thought and the song of the bluebird that seemed to be performing just for him. He stood to turn around and look at Jack.

Jack whistled at the sight. Sean was a beautiful mess of sweaty grime. His dirt-streaked face was touched with a smile. The sun caressed the top of his head, giving him an unearthly glow that was almost angelic. As he walked towards Jack, he began to remove his gloves. His hips swayed a little as he crossed the patio. To Jack it was like another being was before him. Sean looked breathtaking.

Stopping right in front of Jack, Sean brushed the hair back from his face. "Morning Jack, did you sleep well?" His eyes did the smiling as the lips finished on a slight pout.

What could Jack do but take the young man in his arms and kiss him tenderly? It was passionate, bringing back memories of the night before. Sean was the first to break away. "I must smell and I'm covered in dirt. I wonder if that stream is freezing?" He looked at Jack and cuddled against his chest.

"You seem to smell fine to me," was the Immortal's reply as he kissed the Angel's head. "But I'm curious. I can understand the house, but why the garden? It is not like we are setting up house here." He felt Sean tense as the young man broke the hold that Jack's essence had wrapped around him.

"It wasn't supposed to be about that," came the sad reply. Sean moved farther away. "I just wanted to do something. It seemed like the thing to do. Sorry, if you thought it was something else." He walked towards the house. "It was a stupid thing to do."

With his mouth twisted in confusion, Jack felt the young man emotionally move away and then begin to distance himself from the feelings they were sharing.

"Sean, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not sure how long we can stay. I want to keep you safe. Please, I just meant it to mean…" He didn't finish his sentence because a young man named Sean Knowlens silenced him with simple kiss, but the kind that goes straight to your toes. Jack's mouth went numb and he was at a loss for words.

"Jack, I know this isn't forever, well my forever anyway, but I just thought that we could have something, just for a moment. A mayfly lifespan compared to you, but what could mean an eternity to me. Did that make sense? I just want to say that I was happy with a wonderful man, and it felt like home. It doesn't have to be playing safe as houses, just what we make it to be." He didn't move, the breeze blew around him and the bluebird landed on his shoulder.

Jack blinked. "There is a bird on your shoulder."

"Don't try changing the subject! I'll explain about that later. I'm sorry, I just thought maybe if we could find a few plants, some herbs and vegetables that even if we don't see them mature, it is something that we tried, if anything together. I always wanted a garden." He looked at the bird, it chirped at him as it flew off. There were a few silent tears in Sean's eyes.

Jack felt rather small in the grand scheme of things. He was not thinking at the moment for this young man's plea just circled in his brain. He thought of all the others that loved him, and just wanted a moment to be normal. Sean had never had anything approaching a normal life. Was a moment of normal such a horrible thing to ask for? Jack's resolve weakened. He woke up feeling rather normal. He had that a lot since he left Torchwood behind. This case with Sean was not going to end in normal. But it would end.

He thought about Ianto now long dead and spoke. "Okay, get cleaned up, we're going plant shopping. We need some stuff in town, anyway. I wanted to stop by that farm and introduce you to the Connors. Maybe get some fresh stuff from them…" He had Sean's mouth on his in flash, arms wrapped tight around each other. "On second thought, I can clean you up." He smiled at Sean as he led him to the stream. Holding hands they took their time. For once, Jack was in no hurry and it felt good.

Later, lots of bargaining got them four tomato plants, one green pepper plant, two squash, three pole beans, some lettuce and a pumpkin plant. Also some parsley, basil and oregano were bought. Mrs. Connors was so in love with Sean that she gave him some mint and a bay leaf plant as well. There were some daisies, blue cornflowers and black-eyed Susan's thrown into the mix as well as a fresh chicken for their dinner. Jack was really starting to love the country. Everyone was just so friendly.

With potatoes and carrots, Jack put together a chicken stew while Sean planted. Jack would watch from the window of the sitting room as Sean fussed over the plants. He went outside about 2:00pm to bring Sean some ice tea he threw together with cool water from the stream. He was thinking about painting the outside of the cottage. It did need it. And who knows? They might be there for a while. "Would it be bad if we could stay here?" He said out loud.

Sean stood up from placing the last plant in the ground and smiled. It was still brilliantly lit as he faced Jack. "No, I would like that. We could just pretend. After all, aren't we safe for now? I just hope my Da is okay. He is the only family I have. At least the only one that maters." He wiped the sweat on his sleeve, putting down the tools as he went to get the drink that Jack had thoughtfully supplied.

Jack warmed up as the young man grew near. "If you're good, I could arrange a chat with him. But only if you're good." He winked at Sean, who looked surprised.

"I'm always good. But I would love that, Jack! I don't know what to say. How can I thank you?" He jumped into Jack's arms. They hugged each other for quite some time.

"I drew a bath for you. Heated the water myself. Let me go warm it up. You rinse off at the stream and I'll join you in the bath. You can show me how grateful you are there. Oh, and by the time you're done thanking me, dinner should be ready." He kissed Sean and savored his flavor for a minute.

Sean blushed as he pulled away. "Better get moving then or we won't need the bath to thank you in! " He swatted Jack's ass and headed for the stream. Pausing for a moment, he let some energy from inside him go towards the plants. The words in his heart were 'grow now'.

Sometime later, they emerged from the house. Naked as the day they were born, they ran around the small table and chairs Sean had found in the shed. "Jack, I swear I don't know this game at all. Naked hide and seek, indeed." He stopped short to see what Jack was staring at in the garden. He seemed frozen and his mouth hung open. "Jack, what's wrong?"

It didn't take Sean too much longer to figure out why Jack was speechless. All the plants in the garden had exploded in growth and produce. Sean eyes went wide. He didn't know what to say.

"Sean why is there a jungle out here? Can you explain this?" Jack turned to his lover and smiled a rather unpleasant smile.

End Chapter 16 TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Early that day:

"Sean you're not a dog, get your face in the window before you swallow a bug or something." Jack teased his new lover and his childlike behavior. He watched as much of the doctor as he could without running the Cooper off the road. How he loved country roads. You could do anything you wanted. Within reason, of course. Which made Jack reach to fondle Sean's raised bum.

"_Stop that, you're driving," Sean warned. _

"_Exactly my point, you're distracting me. So sit down!" Jack laughed at the pouting face his Angel put on. _

"_You are such a tease, you know that? I can tell you that it means you have strong control issues and that you must be in charge in all things. I could write papers on you and do lectures on the amount of border line mental illnesses you represent. Needless to say, oh Immortal One, you are a great case study!" Sean looked back out the window, holding a grin back and waiting for the response he knew was around the corner with Jack. _

"_Seriously, you mean that I come off that strong to you? I thought of it as being protective, maybe just maybe flirtatious, but controlling? I really don't see it that way. But if that is how you feel, I'm sorry; I'll try to be less controlling and more aware of your feelings. I can do submissive Jack as well. It might be a nice change of pace, been a little out of practice on that." He looked out at the road with an emotionless face and contemplated Sean's analyses. This young man's words were starting to intertwine themselves into Jack's soul. _

_Sean's discipline, if he ever had any, on controlling himself slipped and he covered the giggle that escaped his mouth. Jack lips curled slightly. He turned the steering wheel with a hard right and bought the car to a stop at the side of the road._

_He just stared out the window and didn't say anything for a minute or two. Sean began to get uncomfortable with the silence. He fidgeted with the door handle and looked at Jack. All that was heard was the dust settling from the tires and the wind hitting the back of the Cooper. _

_The leaping immortal that started without mercy to tickle the doctor, was laughing as he attacked the younger man. "You had me going, you are so bad!" _

_Giggling to the point of breathlessness, Sean huffed out. "Like you didn't see that, you're so not that naive. Stop Jack that is starting to hurt!" Pants and giggles subsided as mouths met one another and turned into moans. Jack's hand went up Sean's shirt and the Immortal fought the Cooper for a better angle at Sean's body._

_His hip made contact with the horn. He was wedged against the horn and Sean's body. The horn sounded its call and Jack cursed. Sean giggled. "This is so not funny, Sean!"_

"_Hey, form where I am, it is, but if you don't get off me, or get me off, I fear for the rest of our adult sexual relationship." He burst out laughing. Jack joined him._

_Jack feared that he was stuck and pushed himself free, bruising his side rather badly. The fact that Sean had been pinned to the seat for some time aggravated his back. He slowly slipped out of the car and began to straighten his body out. He winced a little from the pain and started to walk in a circle. He was walking a little further away from the car when Jack trotted up next to him. _

_The sight before them was frightening. For as far as the eye could see there were rows and rows of tents set up in the pasture. Smoke rose over the makeshift camp. They were far enough away as to not be noticed but they could hear the sounds of the dwellers. Dogs barked as children screamed in play. The sound of music and laughter was also heard, most of it was scattered on the wind, but it could still be heard._

_Sean stood there with his eyes shut for a moment. _

"_Jack, do you know anything about this?"_

_Jack sighed. "Mrs. Connors mentioned it yesterday. Apparently, they are refugees from the cities, mainly Cardiff. Some are foreigners that came here for work before the 456; they were the first to get tossed after the fall. The rest are those that just wanted to live off the land or lost jobs, or are on the run. She said that the government doesn't bother with them basically they have bigger things to care about than a few thousand homeless people. That is just here. There are more in other parts of the UK, with Scotland being the major gathering point for the Misplaced." He put his arm around Sean's shoulder. His eyes blurred a little from sensing Sean's mood change as he stayed at the village. _

"_How come the BBC News didn't tell us about this? I never heard of the country being this bad off. I knew it was bad, just not like this." He looked at Jack for an answer. _

_Jack tightened his grip on the young man. "I don't know, Angel, I really don't know. But we should get moving. It is almost noon." With a sweeping motion he turned his lover around and tried to kiss the sadness away. _

"_I want to help them Jack. What will they do in the winter, those tents won't hold out in severe weather?"_

"_Mrs. Connors said something about the caves. They are on the other side of the camp. But it is very crowded. The locals try to help them when they can, Sean. Some of them work in town and on the farmsteads. But times are tough all over. Come on, we have to go." Jack walked to the car leaving Sean to stare a moment longer at the makeshift village. _

"_There must be a better way." Spoke Dr. Sean Knowlens to the wind._

The bluebird landed on the table as a protective barrier between Sean and Jack. It eyed Jack cautiously before letting out a disapproving chirp.

Jack stared at the bird then back at Sean. "Once again, Sean, please can you tell me what happened?" Jack was becoming very nervous with each passing moment Sean didn't give an answer. "Sean, Angel, what did you do?"

Alice Carter was being more then patient with Gwen Williams. Not only did she agree to meet with her and at half past two, she also found herself still waiting at 3:45. She was not happy, considering it was a bad location. The park with children playing, how stupid was the woman? Did she remember why Alice asked for Torchwoods help to begin with? Now to see these children playing and laughing, her Steven in the cold ground, rotting, was far too much to handle.

Just as she was getting up the young Torchwood leader approached the sad Alice Carter. With a smile, Gwen held out her hand. "Alice, I'm sorry I'm so late. I just had a bit of trouble and it was a bit messy."

Gwen kept her hand extended but Alice didn't take it.

"Listen Mrs. Williams, I prefer we didn't get personal. Ms. Carter will be fine. Just because you worked with my father, doesn't mean we are even remotely close. It has been three days and no word from you. I think that you owe me something. How long will it take for you to give me back my son?"

Gwen knew what Alice meant, it just didn't seem like it was worded right. Her son was an icon, famous and to be treasured by all the masses. Not that Gwen bought into the bullshit. It wasn't like Alice could really have him back either. It was just that he was giving people something to latch onto. As long as something brought hope to this declining era of the human race and made something matter again. Gwen didn't like taking something that was good away, but she was a mother now and she would hate it to have been her boy.

"Alice, I'll be straight with you. I have to say this. Without Steve's sacrifice, all these children would not be here. My child would have become just a "unit" as well. You should be proud that he helped, even if he hadn't any clue about it."

Alice was slowly losing the tough exterior she had put on as armor.

Gwen thought of Jack having to make that final decision, some much like the one he made with Jasmine, the fate of the world riding on a small child. It was at this point that Gwen made a major decision. And if afterwards Alice didn't see the "light," she would tell the world that Steven was a fake. And watch the world fall deeper into darkness.

"Mrs. Carter, I want to tell you about your father. The way I see him, the way the people he worked with saw him and the way he should be seen by you. If you don't understand what the point is at the end of the story, I will personally stand on every rooftop and every corner of this world and tell the bloody Planet Earth the truth. Effectively bring your son back to you. I promise this. But you have to hear me out first.

Alice stared at the woman known as Gwen Williams. Alice saw an inner strength that she must have missed from her earlier encounters with the neo Torchwood leader. Nodding, she chose a shady picnic table and seated herself waiting for the "revelation" from Gwen's mouth. "I'm all ears." How like her father in face Alice was and her voice was a definitely female Jack, Gwen thought as she sat down and started talking.

"Sean, don't be shy now. I don't want you to think I'm angry." Jack reached for his Angel's hand only to be pecked at by the bluebird. "Ouch, what did I do?" He looked at the bird that seemed to ruffle his feathers in triumph.

"Jack, are you okay? I'm so sorry." He picked the bird up and placed it on the fence rail. It stayed there eyeing Jack.

Well, that is how Jack saw it. He was still not sure what the bird was doing there and why it was protecting Sean. He rubbed his hand and watched Sean come back to him. Jack knew at the sight of the man he was falling, hard for and into what, he had no idea. For once, he didn't seem to care.

Sean hugged him in desperation. He really wasn't sure of all the answers yet. His memories were sketchy. But he could start with what he knew. He told Jack of the bird first. The bird was singing at being mentioned.

"The term is imprinting. It thinks I'm its mother. So it is staying close to me. That is the first thing. A simple burst of energy. The second is the plants. Jack I swear, I just wanted them to grow a little so maybe we could have our little bit of normalcy. Again, a simple burst of energy. Time energy. I don't know how I know or how to explain it. Sometimes I just see it, just like stopping the bus. I think my mind wandered to the Tent Village and Mrs. Connors telling us about the lack of food. I started thinking of the kids. A split second thought. I guess whatever I do listened and followed my heart. God, I'm so confused. I wish Liam was here or something of his that could explain this. But my memory was so damaged that I just don't have the answers you need. I explained all of what I know and remember."

He hugged him tighter as Jack grabbed his hair and rubbed his hand through the softness. 'God, I am falling' he thought. He was also running the whole mess through his mind. There must be a reason for this. Liam Eckerson was the key. Or possibly getting Sean to remember what Liam showed him what he was capable of doing. Right now it was saving life, and in Liam's case, taking it away. What was Sean able to do if he put his mind to it? Age mountains to dust. Renew a forest. Crumble buildings, rust metal. The possibilities were endless. But at what cost to Sean. Every miracle has its price. He was almost some kind of Time Alchemist if one needed a definition.

"Sean, listen to me. Stop the plants from growing anymore." He pulled his young lover up to face him. For young is how he seemed. Sean didn't really seem his age. Jack rejected that as well as the age part happened along in his thoughts.

"Sure." He wiped the moisture out of his eyes and went to stand in the middle of the garden. It was barely noticeable, just this small amount of light that came off of Sean. But Jack didn't miss it. It was enough to work with.

Sean started to pick the fruits and vegetables from the plants. "Well, don't just stand there staring, Jack! Get some baskets or pans. We might as well pick it and give it to the ones in Tent Village." He smiled at Jack.

Jack saw his Angel again. He smiled at this neo human picking the bountiful harvest. After finding some baskets, Jack rolled up his sleeves and put himself to work helping Sean.

"Do you always write in the book while I sleep?" The question came from the dazed drugged mind of an almost eleven year old.

"_Sometimes, or I watch you sleep. Does it bother you?" Liam smiled down at the boy. Oh yes, he was a boy to the mad doctor now. Sean had survived his first year and was making great progress. He was still in treatment, but the cancer was gone. He had no ill side effects from the radiation or chemo, but there were other treatments just not as deadly. The weight issue was still there. He never gained but grew and seemed to be fine. But there was something wrong with that. _

"_No, you could never bother me," the boy said weakly. He was having a bad day. The good thing was they were becoming less and less. "Liam, I don't feel well. I don't want to talk." He convulsed with the beginnings of a fever. _

_Liam smoothed back his hair with a wet cloth and begun to sing to him. It was just a bunch of random words. But the tune always seemed to soothe Sean. He made him sip some water. "Easy Sean, I'm here, just listen to the story and it will help you to sleep." He eased two pills into the boy's mouth with another sip of water. _

"_Sure Liam. I'll listen; I'll always listen to you." Heavy eyelids fluttered shut. Liam went back to writing in his book as Sean went into a deep sleep, with a pretend story in his head. _

End Chapter 17 TBC


	18. Chapter 18

The warm moments after two bodies still and all is right between them fill the heart with peace. Two barely aware naked men lay in each other's arms as the rest of the world was still in pain. It was not their intention to ignore it. They just fell into each other's arms and nature and desire did the rest. Jack let all thoughts leave his head and drifted down the stream of semi consciousness. He lightly ran his fingers over Sean's soft skin and hummed the song the bluebird was singing outside the window.

Sean giggled, still half asleep.

"Oh great, now I'm one with the bird," Jack murmured to himself.

"It is only because he loves you, Jack." Sean wormed his way up and began to kiss Jack's chest.

"Sean, he pooped on me, that isn't love."

Sucking on a spot between Jack's nipples, Sean replied. "How do you know, are you a bird?" The smack wasn't hard but Sean's left ass cheek was stinging. "Child!" He challenged as he went back to one of his favorite spots on Jack's body.

"You nurse on that place way too much, Angel," Jack said with a tone of amusement.

"Does it bother you?"

Jack groaned a little and shifted his weight. "Reply hazy, try again later." He massaged the butt cheek he smacked. He was drifting again.

"Hey, can I ask you something? In the 51st century are you all born hairless? Outside of your groin area and your head and some on your arms, you are hairless. I know you get stubble on your face. It is like you just don't grow any other hair. I mean even on your legs, Jack." He looked directly at the Immortal who was now rubbing his young lover's back.

"Lasers, we have it removed permanently with lasers. And if you change you mind or fetish, you can have it returned as well. When I was around 20, I don't even know why I would remember this, there was a trend to be hairy, not like with some hair, but a primitive amount of hair. It was something. Boy, did you stay warm at night." His eyes closed as he smiled at the ceiling lost in the memory. "I haven't thought of things like that in a long while. Now, answer a question for me?" He peeked at Sean's sucking mouth. He was already in love with that mouth; those lips were so full, really made the place deep inside ache.

Sean stopped sucking, which made Jack groan in displeasure. "Sure, within reason." The young man smirked at Jack.

"How old were you when you lost you virginity?"

Sean had to dredge up the memory. He was straining to remember it. He thought maybe it was Liam but… something didn't seem right with that. "I don't know. I'm having a hard time with that memory. Something a kin to your 'Reply hazy try again later' line is there instead." He pouted and rested his head on Jack's chest.

"Does it feel like a hole in your memory, as if the memories were misplaced or better yet thrown out, but not by choice?" Jack ran his hand through Sean's hair and rubbed his forehead lightly.

"Yes that is it, sort of. But I see the images it is just not what they mean, just doesn't connect, and then there are so many other things that are extremely vivid, like they are unreal."

"I know that feeling. I think we have something in common, Sean. I don't think your memory was damaged in the car crash, I think someone tampered with it. Has the clarity gotten a little better since you have been off of the drugs Paul had been giving you?"

"I only just stopped taking them, how did you know that, about my memory getting better?"

"By giving the bottle to Martha, and you didn't hesitate to assume that Paul was trying something. You thought he was poisoning you. What made you not trust him all of a sudden? I just assumed that your memory would get better being away from the medication." Jack asked, feeling more awake as they talked.

It was something that Sean was also wondering. In the last four and a half years, Paul was someone that he had trusted implicitly. But lately, what with the dreams and the sudden development of his abilities, his thoughts turned towards Paul. He was being underhanded. Was he told to suppress Sean's abilities, if so by whom, and why let Sean roam free if he could be a problem, why even let him out? He voiced these concerns to Jack.

"Like minds think alike. I was wondering that myself. I had Martha take some of the meds that were around your place. Hopefully, we can figure some of this out. I love a good mystery," Jack said as he kissed the top of the young man's head. "But that reminds me. I owe you a call to your father. I have a way of doing it. I can even make it a video call. Would you like that?"

He got the one reply he wanted. A sweet kiss from his Angel's lips was the answer.

"Jack?" Sean ventured. "What did you mean by something in common?" Sean lazily began to rise from the comfort of Jack's chest.

"I had two years of my memory stolen when I was at the Time Agency. I know by the look on your face what it feels like, but that is another story for another time." He reached for the nightstand and retrieved his Vortex Manipulator and put it back on his arm.

"I have a feeling you rarely take off your "armor" for anyone unless they mean something." Sean pointed to the wrist strap.

"Well, I don't need it off to perform, if that is what you mean. But yes, I rarely feel this comfortable when intimate. There, now you have a secret that no one else has." He jumped out of bed and began to put his clothes on, though he had done it before, a naked video call with Sean's father and the ladies of Torchwood, while it may seem fun to him, he didn't know how the other parties would take it.

"Did you ever take it off for Ianto?" The question was not asked in jealousy. It was just a question, a trait that comes with being an analyst.

Jack thought on that for a moment before replying. "No, I didn't, I think mainly it was because for most of that relationship I was involved in, I never knew if I would have to leave in a hurry. I was like a time traveling Boy Scout back then, always prepared. Afterwards, I did come back to him and the traveling was done, I was too busy with Torchwood and it seemed that we would be running out the door afterwards." Jack paused for a moment. "Wait; there was one time, just after Gwen got married. We got back late and sent the others home. Tosh and Owen, they are no long of this world. We stole a few bottles of champagne and we got really involved in some naked game I made up. Ianto loved those games. And he took it off. Said I didn't need it on, I wasn't going anywhere. I remember kissing him and thinking that he was right. Sean, is that all he really wanted from me?" Jack waited for some sort of reaction from Sean.

If Sean felt upset or threatened by Ianto's memory, it didn't show on his smiling face. "I would say yes. He wanted you to stay. Why did you need to ask that? What happen?"

Jack button and zippered his trousers while he thought of an answer. "Nothing, I just think that he wanted something I could never really give him. I don't know if I could give it to anybody." Jack couldn't look at Sean. He was done with the conversation as far as he was concerned. For all he knew, he had just pushed Sean out the window and may have killed any chance for normal relationship with him. But he also had to be honest. He turned barefooted to walk out of the room.

"If you are expecting me to throw something in anger, you are wrong. If you want tears or me to ask what you mean, I won't. You are who you are. I'm seeing that more clearly every day," Sean said. "My needs are few, and right now they have been met. What happens with us happens, Jack, happens. I don't feel the need to make it become something more. It already is. For however long it lasts. It means something, at least to me." He rolled off the bed and landed on his feet, and went about getting dressed.

Jack watched the back of his Angel. He blinked back tears. "Sean, who are you? I want to know that. You seem to read things in me that I've laid to rest because no one ever got them out of me. Ianto was so close, but he never thought in terms of me, it was all relative to him. I guess that was only fair, I am not really human after all, not in the sense that he was." He jammed his hands in his pockets and leaned on the doorframe as he waited for Sean's response.

The doctor closed his eyes briefly and clenched his jaw before turning around to face his Immortal lover. Wide eyes caught liquid blue ones and held the gaze. "I'm not human either, at least not like the rest of humanity. There are two things we now have in common. Maybe that is why I can understand you so well. As to who I am," He giggled, "Reply hazy, try again later, which is the best answer I can come up with." He flashed a smile at Jack.

It went straight to the pit in Jack's stomach and unknotted the unsure feelings inside. Sean was waiting as Jack crossed the distance and stood in front of the young man.

"Angel," was all that was said as their clothes found a home on the floor again and the call to Torchwood was delayed another hour.

_Torchwood: Later on that day._

"Why hasn't he checked in?" Gwen was pacing a hole into the floor.

"Darling, you should remember, he is Jack, who happens to be with an attractive younger man. I think I can guess what the problem is. You don't need to be a bleeding brain surgeon for that." Rhys stopped her with his hand and made her focus on his words. "They are fine. Jack has done this before. I sure they are keeping a low profile." He tried to reassure her.

"Captain Cheesecake keeping a low profile, that is like telling a bird not to fly! It is against his nature. He is always being noticed." Mickey piped in from his computer terminal. He was finally making some headway on the people who were watching Sean. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"That is what I was afraid of. And why help this Sean guy in the first place?" Andy asked. "Is he just picking up charity cases, or is he playing spooky private eye, or did he really just happen to run into him? What do we know about Dr. Sean Knowlens, except that most of what he is happens to be a lie." It was then that Martha walked in with Sean's father and Alice Carter.

"My son's life is not a lie. I know him; that is all that matters. I just don't know what they made him into."

"Oh, we are supposed to believe that you didn't know they were experimenting on your son?" Andy distrusted Sean's dad, any man that would turn their child over to be used, as a guinea pig no matter what his situation was, just couldn't be honest.

"I guess I deserve that. I tried to do right by him. He has made me proud. I was never proud of my choice for him. But he is alive and that matters more than my choice and I would do it all again, if it meant I could keep holding him," Peter said, facing the ex PC's mistrust squarely.

Alice went the old man and hugged him. Andy, seeing Alice's gesture, backed down and muttered, "I'm sorry." He left the room, saying with something about it being Weevil dinnertime.

"If I know my father, Mr. Knowlens, I'm sure that Sean is safe." She patted the man on the back to comfort him.

"Please, dear Alice, call me Peter." He smiled at her.

Martha saw that same smile as Sean. That was as far as the resemblance went. DNA no longer connected Sean to his father. Traces, but that was it. Martha was still waiting for the analysis program to complete to figure out the rest. It was times like these that a discussion with Owen was missed. Even the Doctor would have been help. She was hoping that her experience with both men would help her come up with answers.

"Alice, why Torchwood? I mean, what did Gwen say to you to convince you to join up?"

Alice's face was so like her dad's that Martha inwardly giggled. There was no doubt whom she belonged to by blood. "She told me the truth Martha, and I owe it to Steven to keep up the fight. I think I owe it to my father as well. He was not the only one responsible, and he shouldn't be alone in his pain. Your leader, she is very convincing."

Gwen smiled at the women and thought about how strange the world worked sometimes to bring people together the way it did. The human sense of community, or family made it worth every tear, bloody scrape and late night doing her job. That was what she told Alice. But she used the stories of the man Jack Harkness to convince the woman to join. She wondered how Jack was going to take that.

"Incoming call. Repeat, Incoming call, Repeat..."

"Alice will you get the phone?" Gwen asked.

"So you won't break it to him gently? Very nice." She flashed a Harkness grin at Gwen and went to her station to initiate the Video Phone.

"Hey Torchwood, long time!" Jack's face appeared on screen.

"Hello Dad, how are you?"

Jack's face was shocked as he registered the image of his daughter before his grin fell. "Alice…"

Two boys were locked in a kiss, the first real kiss that Sean ever knew. The feel of another human touching him like this was way too much. He was feeling the heat rise in his pants. He didn't know what would happen next. He was fifteen and living a rather sheltered life. He had no idea what sex was or how it worked. It was something that Liam just didn't want Sean to know. But some things just don't need to be taught.

_Sean was taken aback by the other boy's touch. He seemed to know what he was doing by undoing Sean's zipper and pushing his pants over his hips, freeing the tension in his groin. The other boy touched him there. Heat flushed through him and panting, Sean lost control as his first orgasm happened. He was not prepared for what happen next._

_When the boy, Joe was his name finished with Sean, he left him on the bed confused and unhappy. Liam found him crying. Joe disappeared from the hospital shortly afterwards. _

_That night, Sean stayed in Liam's room. He never was out of Liam's sight for very long again. _

The man paced while the woman stood still. "What do you mean, gone? Our best were watching Sean. You tell Dr. Tabor that he either finds him or he is dead. I will have no loose ends. Without the drugs, Sean is a time bomb, no pun intended." He smirked a little, which caused the woman to snicker.

"Good one, sir." She clapped her hands together.

"Oh shut up, you robotic pea brain simpleton, I don't need your praise. Just make sure you find Sean and get rid of Captain Jack Harkness, by any means necessary. Sean must be contained. Got it?" He glared at his assistance.

"Yes sir." She left him.

"Did you hear that, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth entered the den from off the patio. "Yes, my love, I heard it. You're going to bring that darling boy of mine back home. Maybe you should have listened to me that he should have been taken care of a long time ago. Liam was always a fool. But he could at least control his creation. It is just a bit of shame that I never really liked the boy. But he did at least get me to a better place. Good thing you approached me first. The rest was just playing with Peter's heartstrings. He was always too into that wrenched boy." She lit a cigarette and walked towards the patio door.

"Elizabeth, you know I love you." The man said. "I'm glad my organization found Sean, for it bought me you."

"Yes dear, I'm glad too. I think I want salmon for lunch. See to it please, dear." She strolled outside, leaving the man to do her bidding.

End Chapter 18 TBC


	19. Chapter 19

The knock on the door seemed louder then it needed be. His hand was heavier today, was it the snow falling or the fact he was very scared about this visit? He wished the out of order sign over the bell didn't need to be there. He kept telling her to get it fixed. She didn't listen to him anymore. She just let him come around for their daughter.

He should have called first. A doll was a good gift for a 9-year-old girl, right? He should have stayed in the Hub or gone looking for another lonely soul to warm him up on Christmas. There always seemed to be plenty of them. But he wanted to do the right thing. Then why did the right thing always feel so wrong? "This is getting way too complicated. It isn't like I never had a child before." But it was never like this, He still had feelings for Alice's mom. She was the one who threw him out. Lucia had zero tolerance for fuck ups. Jack Harkness was handsome but he was not good father material. But she agreed that on birthdays and holidays he could "play" daddy.

The birthday, he missed. The school pageant, he missed. The last four Christmases, he had also missed. He was not a very good "play" daddy either. Might as well have stayed in the Hub. He was safer being alone. But damn, he thought it is freezing and it is Christmas.

His heart sank as Lucia opened the door. (Oh God, I'm done for.) His face fell when he saw her. She was still so stunning and she knew it.

"Well look what the Weevil dragged in. You are a little late, she is in bed." With ice in her eyes she stared at Jack. Lucia was just about to slam the door on him.

"I lost track of time, really I didn't mean this to happen again." Something cracked in his over confident stance. He was shaking.

"Jack, we had an agreement. And you keep breaking them. I don't think this is right for her. She needs some stability. I was thinking of marring Harry. He would be a good father for her." Unlike you, it hung in the air.

The ice formed in his veins. Death by heartbreak was a new one for an immortal man. Jack blinked back the tears and turned to go.

"Jack, I'm sorry, it is Christmas, why don't you come in? This was wrong of me. But you have to understand, she loves you so much. It really isn't good to have a sometimes Dad." I still love you, was the really words. Lucia just didn't know if she had the courage to say them. He would be beautiful for most of forever; she would be dust; it was not something to build a family on.

The smile was brief as he was shown into the hall. Snow fell off of the greatcoat and melted on the warm floor. She had the fireplace going, He remembered a lot about that fireplace. He smirked back a memory of a long night that was Weevil and Rift free. "I love that fire place."

"I know. Brandy?"

"Sure, as it is Christmas, well for another hour or so." He laughed.

She still loved that laugh. She always would. Just because they couldn't have a life together, doesn't mean that love stops. Lucia had no answers right now. Being with Harry didn't seem right, either. In a way, she was glad he wasn't here tonight. But that didn't mean Jack Harkness was going to share her bed either. He might never leave it again. As death would do them part, she thought as she shook her head.

The brandy's color licked at the fire's flames through the glass. It was a magical sight. Jack always liked the glow of a good snifter of brandy. He was holding it up to the firelight when Lucia came back with a sleepy Alice at her side.

"Daddy!" She ran to his arms and Jack caught her. He loved this little girl, dark hair and blue eyes just like her Dad. And she was smart and perceptive. He had been hooked on her the second she came into this world. Lucia asked him to leave six months after Alice was born. He just left, no questions asked. All the answers were in her stormy eyes. She was the fire that burned in that fireplace. So he left.

"How are you kitten, are you well?" He hugged her for dear life. He wanted nothing more than to never let go. Closing his eyes, he absorbed her warmth and her smell.

"Now I am, Daddy!" Her face lit up and the smile was none other's but Jack's. He stayed holding her for some time. In time, Alice grew impatient, "Daddy, is that package for me?" She noticed the gift by his leg.

"And if it is, would it make you happy?" He teased.

"Oh Daddy, you know it would. But you are by far, the best gift of all. I hoped you would come this Christmas. Mum said you wouldn't, but I knew you would." She smiled up at her handsome Dad. "I tell all my friends that my Daddy is the greatest Daddy because he makes us safe."

Jack surprised, shot a look at Lucia and was greeted by a shrug of her shoulders. "Don't look at me, she is your daughter, after all."

He laughed. Letting go was the hardest part. "Here, Happy Christmas sweetheart. Why don't you go over to the fire and open you gift? I need to talk with your Mum a bit." He kissed his daughter and shooed her along with package in tow.

When they were in the kitchen, Lucia looked at him. "Who was it tonight? You have that look."

"Sam Page, the rift just took him, I was involved with him. It just started. God, I hate this Lucia, maybe it is time I could just disappeared. I don't know if I can take this much longer." He broke there before the sink. Leaning forward, he sobbed out of control.

Lucia came up next to him and rubbed his back. She leaned her head on him and talked lovingly at him. "Stay the night Jack, on the couch of course, I can't be that mean to you. Let us be a family for a little bit. Alice will love being with you for breakfast." She patted him one more time before moving away. "Let me get some linens for you. I'll give you a minute."

Cold as ice, no more fire. Jack was beside himself. But for his daughter, he pulled himself together. He would need to be strong for Alice. Returning to the living room, the Christmas tree was lit up; Jack smiled at his little girl holding the china doll that he purchased at the antique store. She ran to him as he sat on the couch and curled up on his lap. Lucia found them fast asleep in each other's arms. She covered them with a blanket and went to turning off the lights, leaving them to dream together. With that happy moment she went to her bed and didn't sleep.

Cardiff:

"Dad, I know what you are thinking. I just needed to find closure. Steven isn't mine anymore; he belongs to the world now. I just needed to find this world that needs my child so badly for a God. Maybe I can help its people as well. I gave so much for them and their children. Like father, like daughter." Alice from her side of the looking glass began to cry.

Jack returned the tears, in large drops in front of his daughter. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, God I'm so sorry. I… wish it could have been different, if I could take it back, kitten, I would've have fought for him. God please, Alice, forgive me. I know I don't deserve it." He hung his head down low, unable to meet her eyes.

Sean listened off to the side. Steve, the World's Child was Jack's grandson. He thought he dreamed hearing that when he had his fever. 'Jack, oh my dear Jack, what you must be going through.' He kept the thought inward. When he was ready, Jack would tell him. He was beginning to figure that out about his Immortal lover. Thoughts of Jack touching him made Sean turn shades of red. He left Jack for some time with his daughter while he attempted to make coffee in the kitchen.

Jack sensed when Sean left. The fear was beginning to grow, was the young man upset with him. He knew Ianto would have understood the decision he had to make concerning saving the world with the use of one boy. But to a Torchwood outsider would Jack seem like a monster?

"You're a monster!"

Ianto had once called him that. It seemed so long ago and on a different world.

"A world you were in, Ianto Jones." Jack thought to himself.

"We can talk about this later when you get back to Cardiff. But for now, I still love you, Daddy. But I don't know if I'm ready to forgive. But I could never hate you. Okay, Daddy?" Alice let a tear slide down her cheek.

"Fair enough, kitten." He paused. "Sorry, you told me once you were too old for that. How did you put it? 'My never aging father forgets that some of us start to get older.' You were 18, I think. You were always so smart and beautiful. Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there." He laughed his tears into hiding from those who might be watching. "What have you got for me?" The Captain went into action.

Alice explained that the authorities were indeed looking for Sean. As with all good Torchwood employees, she reported all incidences to Jack. 2:00pm the day they left Cardiff, the authorities, and some Governmental group raided Sean's office and apartment. They took whatever they could. Torchwood set up surveillance cameras and recorded all events. The surprise came when Peter identified his wife on the tape.

"Apparently she is working for the group that manipulated Sean. She was heard saying and I quote: "That brat better not get far, he has been nothing but trouble since he was born. I want him found and contained. I don't care how many you have to put down to do it. Go!" End Quote:"

A plate broke in the kitchen. Jack's head jerked in that direction. He wanted to get up. But they had a lot to cover and the laptop was not going to hold its charge for very long.

"Sean, is everything alright? Please come back in here, Angel."

"The coffee is almost done. I'll be there in a moment." He shouted back, Jack's trained ears could hear a little strain.

"Angel?" Gwen was on screen with a smirk.

"Yes, Angel." He was very light about the response, almost airy in the reply. There was a spark of happiness in the sound of Jack's voice.

Gwen noticed and smiled at her mentor. Maybe he was healing? Wouldn't it be nice?

"Anyway, Martha went home for the night. She was up waiting for Sean's lab work and other things. With Peter's help we found the hospital were Sean was experimented on. No surprise that it was closed in 1972 for good and the building was bought by a group of private investors. But here is the neat part. It was supposed to have been demolished in 1973 by the same investors and returned to parkland. The government records said it was. They have pictures and permits and approvals and the entire red tape tire up. We even got witnesses saying that they saw it destroyed that year. About 20 of them, after all they helped with the demolition. But it gets better. Jack it is the same building in the same spot untouched. It shouldn't be there, but it is".

Jack let out a low whistle. "So some how the group involved, put the building back?"

"Well this part is my area of expertise." Mickey's face smiled at Jack in another window on the Hub. "We have always suspected that there were other pockets like the rift, based not only in Cardiff or the UK but the whole world. And through investigating Sean, we have run into a real pocket of the Cardiff Rift. Our Rift has spread roots, so to speak. I wish the Doctor was here, he would think of me as being so smart."

The laptop screen flashed a low battery warning at Jack. " Mickey, can you be more clever with the words that tell me what is up. I don't have much time here. Speak, boy and I'll give you a cookie."

"Hah, Hah, funny man! If the Rift is like a volcano, it vents off extra energy that builds up. The hospital is one of its relief valves. It bleeds out excess Rift energy. We have charted around 500 more of them around the UK. All of them come back to our Rift."

"500? You're kidding, right? But how come we haven't found them before?" He thought of Tosh and her Rift programs. But the spikes that took people away were never really found out but Jack never pointed Tosh in that direction. He did about the other things. It never occurred to him that there would have been bleeding from the Rift. "Why was Torchwood never notified of any other activity?

"Jack, it only started with in the last 43 years. And it was so small at first that it just caused time displacement pockets not really big enough for anything to pass through. Most of the time it was written off as 'seeing things, ghost, wavy line, UFO's, and unsolved mysteries.' One woman who was in her mid twenties back in 1979 in Manchester, said she had the most amazing night having sex with a spirit. She wrote a paper on it for a magazine on psychic phenomena in the States. It was the Rift tickling her fancy, as it goes." Mickey smirk was followed by a short burst of laughter from the assembled group.

"So this unknown group that involved Liam Eckerson and Paul Tabor, and now Sean's mother Elizabeth Knowlens, somehow were involved in making a building vanish or seem demolished with witness and then was rebuilt. Sean, get in here please."

Sean appeared in the doorway. His eyes were a little tired and he seemed to be in control of his emotions over his mother's involvement with his condition. The truth was he was feeling like he had been used. His desire, with Jack's emotional state being held together with invisible tape right now, was keeping his own problems to a minimum. Sean was concerned that Jack's current state of progress shouldn't be hindered by what was Sean's emotional situation. Jack's needed to be held together with more than a quick pat on the back. He needed to be loved.

Sean didn't like the feeling of falling into an emotional black hole, but as long as at some point Jack was there to catch him, it would be okay. He smiled briefly at the Immortal as he sat down beside him.

Jack surprisingly showed him affection in front of the others by reaching for his hand and kissing it. Sean's face lit up. The others saw the interaction between the two but didn't want to ruin it by commenting. Mickey vowed that when all was said and done, he would properly raze Captain Cheesecake for it!

"I remember the hospital somewhat. Liam and I lived in the north wing on the second floor. It was a private area for the staff and the doctors. Our rooms overlooked the lake and a long field. I believe it was the corner of the building. I want to show you all something. It was rather spooky when I did this for Liam, but when the plate broke before I put it back together.

He got back up, leaning in and kissing Jack before standing. Returning from the kitchen with plate, he smashed it on the table for all to see. He then asked Jack to position the laptop's camera on the plate. Sean placed his hands over the plate and it reformed.

There was a gasp from the video windows on the laptop. Sean was sweating a little, but otherwise unscathed. He was smiling a little. "Maybe I could be a traveling magician; I already have the beautiful assistant." He seemed a little out of breathe, but the warm grin at Jack was enough to make it seem like he was okay. Sean was learning how to hide the fact that he was not feeling very well. He could be the master of illusion. There was another fact he was aware of; that each time he did a 'trick' it felt like it was bringing him closer to death. This was not settling well with him at all.

For Jack, he would keep it a little secret for now.

"Sean is this what Liam had you do?"

"Yes, amongst other things."

The low battery signal was now beeping.

"I really can't remember much of it, but things are beginning to piece themselves together. I should have a picture soon." He bowed his head down.

"So boys and girls, Martha's discovery is that Sean can create pockets of time and alter all that is inside the pocket. It is all matter that he can change by resurrecting it or decaying it. And he uses time as the catalyst. This goes beyond anything I ever heard of. Martha is still working on how much control Sean is capable of maintaining, and how long until a potential meltdown, if any at all, could occur. Am I close?" He smiled at the shocked group.

"How the hell did you know all that?" All three said at once.

Jack couldn't keep the laughter back. "It is on the screen behind you Gwen!"

They all laughed. At that, Sean's father joined in.

"Hello Sean! You're looking well. And a little heavier, I'd say you look happy." The dancing eyes of his father were all Sean needed to feel death's icy hand back away a bit.

"Da, oh Da! I miss you so. But I'm happy!" He stole a quick glance at Jack, who was already watching the light return in Sean's face. It was heart warming to see the love between this father and son.

"I can see that. You look like you put on a little weight!"

"Da it has only been two days!" His laughter was musical as he reached for Jack's hand again. "I have a good cook with me. No way I can starve with him." A full smile complete with dancing eyes, found Jack's gaze. The two lovers locked eye contact together and time itself froze. The look stopped when the laptop started beeping in earnest.

"Jack, we have the Intel that you requested. We managed to get some things on Liam as well and Paul, but it will have to wait. You're beeping." Gwen said as the battery yelled that the laptop was out of power.

"Send it through, I want to try something." Sean said as he placed his hand over the laptop. Effortlessly the files were downloaded into the system in no time. Sean breathed out and wiped his forehead. "Now I'm the fastest downloading system in the world. Market me, Jack!" Sean laughed himself right off the couch.

"Sean, are you okay?" His father asked, a bit confused and with a bit concern. Did he want to know what his son was capable of doing?

"He is fine, just loves to laugh. Did you know you son is a practical joker?" Jack reached over, patting Sean on the head. Sean was still giggling.

"I didn't know." Peter's smile hid something else. Jack was sure for a brief moment it was contempt towards him. Peter was feeling like he was really losing his son this time. Not just to a man but to forces that were unknown to him. And now with his wife's involvement with the building of Sean, Peter needed to hang on to his son tighter. But somehow he knew that Sean was still going to slip away.

"Da, we should go. I'll be in touch with you soon. I love you Da! Don't worry, I'll be fine." Reaching to touch the screen, Sean wished he could hug his father, just one last time. 'Get that thought out of you head Sean, it isn't over yet.' His inner voice kicked in.

He got up off the floor and allowed Jack to end the conversation, mentioning the next communication was to be in three days. He told them all how proud he was of them and that he loved them all. Which made Mickey twitch a little.

"Oh by the way. I've tuned into your wrist strap. We can use it for limited communications. It still can be traced mind you; I'm working on fixing that as we speak, so emergencies only. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Captain!" Mickey's smile ended the call. Jack reflected on the amount the young man had grown since he first met him. Change in Mr. Smith's case was for the better!

Sean was moving objects around on the mantle piece when Jack flicked off the screen. "I should go charge this up in the car." He waited for Sean to say something. Like a child, Sean was lining all the objects up according to size. Then he began play with them. Jack was getting concerned about the lack of reaction form his lover. "Sean, hey what's going on?"

Without turning to look at the source of the voice, Sean blurted out. "How can I die, if I haven't lived?" He remained at what he was doing. "What am I really?" He sobbed a little and began to shake. 'I must not do this, Jack needs someone strong but right now I hurt.' He didn't respond at first to the arms around his waist. He didn't even feel the head resting on his shoulder or the voice pleading with him to come upstairs. But somehow he made it up stairs and back into bed with the Immortal man.

He did feel Jack making love to him. That much he was aware of.

End Chapter 19


	20. Chapter 20

'A million times more than I ever did,' was the thought in Sean's head as Jack came to rest on top of him after they shared each other. He didn't like the term making love, though lover was in his head more and more when he thought of Jack Harkness. 'Just a few days and yet I feel so attached to him. I am mad. But after the way he reached for my hand in front of the others tonight; his tenderness when we had sex, he must feel more for me than pity. Does time mean anything? My Immortal lover, will he cry when I'm dust?'

The throbbing of Sean's head was like non-stop hammering. The room had gotten a little too warm for his liking. Jack was a natural source of heat. He was radiating it as he snored his head off in what Sean assumed was a very peaceful sleep. After Jack removed himself, he spent over a half hour kissing every part of Sean's sweaty body. With affection not unfelt, Sean swam away into a much need sleep. Leaving Jack to fend for himself. He only assumed that this didn't bother Jack.

But the bedroom felt too small right now and he needed some space. As quietly as possible, he left their bed. The air outside was unseasonably warm and the insects were noisier than normal. He walked the path to the stream where he bent down to splash cool water on his face. He took a long drink and closed his eyes. The sounds of the awakening dawn filled his ears. He was starting to realize that he didn't need a clock or a timepiece at all any more; he was starting to measure time all by himself. He was also realizing that he could sense things aging. The plants around him as they were growing, the remainder of the night predators on the hunt, and even the short lives of the microorganisms in the water were all there, and he could feel them.

He felt lighthearted all of sudden, the pounding in his head ceased as he realized some of what he was becoming. He smiled at the world and for the first time he was aware of his part in it. "I do mean something. It all does. Why have I not seen it before?"

Stretching as he stood up, he knew sleep was going to be impossible with his mind being so awake at the moment. So a walk was in order. He was suddenly into seeing the world. This hobby with sight was very new to him. He never cared what it was all about before. That was changing with each new step he took.

"Maybe Jack could travel with me. We could back pack around Europe. Or perhaps take a sailing ship over the wide oceans of the world. I would love to see America, north, south and central. Oh and the places that few go to as well. I want to know my home." Sean smiled, as his steps became light. He felt like a creature that just realized what he was all about. And for the first time in Sean's life, he felt, even if he wasn't human, like he belonged to this world as much as anyone else.

He stepped off the path that went back to the house and walked into the remaining night.

Feb 21st 2001

Diary of Dr Liam Eckerson

Transcribed to Achieve Record 72333276

Subject: Sean Knowlens

Dec 23rd 2014

Archivist: Alice Carter

It has come to my attention that I have developed strong feelings for Sean, which is making the experiments even more difficult to do. I think I may have stepped over the doctor patient line and fallen in love with him. I ended my 25-year affair with Paul today. He said that I was being foolish, to "take what I want from the boy" and he would be waiting. Paul isn't seeing what I am seeing. Sean is special and I made him that way. But he is more than a lab rat now he is growing into an amazing human hybrid. He smiles no matter what, making me feel that there is hope for all of us. I created beauty. I made the perfect man. I therefore have the right to have the perfect man. So I acted on that right and took him tonight. I don't feel proud of it, but as he lies here next to me I know I love him. He is mine and the organization can try to take him from me. If they dare!

"Sean you are being child like! Just break it." Liam was losing his patience with the young man. "It is just a snow globe. The worst case scenario is I will buy you a new one!" He screamed at Sean. The mistake at the moment was touching him. Electric impulses raced to the part of the body he didn't need at the moment. Sean's pout was turning him on again. He must not get distracted.

"My Da gave it to me, Liam! See, it is a penguin on an igloo and you shake it. I want to go to the zoo some day." Sean looked up at Liam. His eyes were tired and he was looking pale. They were trying this part of the lesson all day. And Sean was cranky about it.

Sometimes, Liam swore that Sean was emotionally retarded. He was eighteen and acting like he was a child. "Sean, I'm not letting you leave until you do this. We have been at this for eight hours and I know you want to rest and eat. Tell you what, you break it and fix it and we'll go to a movie tonight." He knew the bribe wouldn't work.

Sean was clutching the snow globe to his chest. And he responded with a flat out "NO!"

It was the last straw. The kid was 18 and tired or not, a gift from "daddy" or not, Sean was going to do this. He ripped the snow globe out of his patient's arms and threw it 15 feet into the adjacent wall. The loud smashing sound echoed in the room. It was quiet for a while as Sean blinked in the direction of the shattered home of his beloved penguin. Tears flew out of his eyes and he slowly began to turn to Liam.

"You love to ruin everything that is a part of me, don't you, Liam? I don't understand why, but you just do." He stood up and faced the doctor.

His face was too much for Liam, who suddenly felt like he kicked a puppy. Sean was so beautiful in his sadness. So hurt was his look that Liam knew he just made a mistake. The regret wore heavily on the doctor as he reached for Sean. Before he could console Sean, a miracle happened. With no effort to the eye, Sean put the snow globe back together. He went to the wall were it was sitting and picked up.

The priceless smile that radiated from his face as he realized what he had just done made Sean seem not human, but divine. It that point Liam knew the boy was ready for anything. He ran to Sean and hugged him. "Oh Sean, that was amazing. You are amazing." He pulled back to look into Sean's dancing eyes. It was then that their mouths met and the kiss deepened.

Sean kissed Liam back, still clutching the snow globe as Liam began to explore his ward's mouth. Pulling away slightly as they rested their foreheads together, Sean spoke. "Liam, let's forget the movie, I want this, instead."

Liam nodded in agreement and went back to kissing Sean Knowlens.

Jack awoke to an empty bed and jumped up. Damn, he should have at least stayed awake and kept an eye on Sean. Clearly the young man had some trouble last night with the whole conversation. Sean didn't speak at all after they retired upstairs. That should have made Jack a little cautious about falling asleep. The truth was his young lover was very good at wearing him out. A feat not many achieved with Jack.

He threw some clothes on and ran downstairs - nothing. The path to the stream was empty and beyond the stream was also vacant of anything human, or at least the appearance of a human. Jack's mind slipped back to the first time he was talking to Sean and he noticed the scars on his wrists. "Would he try that again?" The thought was too much for Jack as he made for the front of the cottage, to make sure the Cooper was there. He stopped short when he saw it, still stuffed with the produce they were going to take to the camp today. That is, if Sean showed up.

Jack eyes then caught sight of something, a bare footprint in the dirt by the car. The ground was soft in spots and sure enough it was heading to the pasture that was before the glen, almost a direct course to where Elaine was resting. Jack sighed and shook his head. At least he had an idea which direction Sean went in. But for how long had Sean been traveling? Jack was also concerned about the man's state of mind.

A bird landed at the car and chirped at him. The bluebird tried to get Jack's attention.

"If you're going to poop on me or bite, then get it over with. I don't have time for your petty games, friend. I'm worried about Sean." Jack looked around on the ground to make sure there was no other indication of Sean's return before he headed to the pasture. The bird landed on his shoulder.

"What now?" He studied the bird that seemed to be indicating a direction with its head. "Ah, you know where he is? Then please friend, show me!" The bluebird flew off in the direction that the footprint was heading. Jack's face lit up as he followed the bird.

Sean sighed afterwards; he was so relaxed that he was drifting off to sleep. Liam was wrapped around every part of him, somewhat possessively. But he didn't mind.

"Liam, thank you. Thank you for my life, thank you for this. I'll be more understanding and cooperate more from now on. I love you!" He snuggled into the warmth of first time sex. Real sex, the kind that means more than just getting off. He was just about to drift off when Liam kissed him again.

"Thank you Sean, have wanted to hear you say those words, I love you, for such a long time now. It was so fantastic you and I, together like this. I'm glad I found you, so glad."

Liam reached for the boy's mouth and Sean responded with his body. So much for the sleep Sean was trying to achieve, as they met again for another moment of passion. Sean's moaning made Liam strive for perfection. He wanted to please his creation. To be perfect in the eyes of perfection was his goal. And in the end Sean calling out his name was all the praise he needed. He rested himself only after the God was indeed a sleep.

It wasn't long until Jack found Sean with the rise of the new day. He was standing in the middle of the plot of land that Jack called Elaine's field. If colors were alive they would be surrounding Sean at this moment. The site brought the words 'What if the Gods walked among us,' to mind. Sean was naked, his arm stretched out as the bird landed on it. The light played with the color of his brown hair and made it appear more copper in tone. He was glowing with energy. The flowers were waving around him in praise as he stood there like a statue. Worshipers to a deity, the landscape seemed to be bending to Sean in the wind.

Jack stood there transfixed, not daring to disturb the moment. Out of all the loves of his life, this one was proving to be the strangest. Jack was a Universal man, having seen and experienced a lot. But right now out of all the wonders in the Universe, there had never been anything that looked like something out of legend before. He mentally absorbed the moment. Someday he may find a need to tell Sean's tale.

As if suddenly aware of being watched, Sean looked over at the Immortal. It was there that he saw Jack as more than just a man. He looked like a warrior from old, someone tall and proud who was meant to suffer to enrich the rest of humanity. It was at this moment Sean knew he was in love with Jack. Slowly he walked towards his heartbroken lover.

They met each other halfway gazing into each other's souls. Embracing into a kiss, the two men joined for a single moment as life around them watched. Sean whispered into Jack's ear. "Let's be farmers, I found a way we can feed the refugees, Jack. This land, it is calling to help out those in need. The flowers won't mind a shorter life if it means that others in nature get to live. Jack, will you help me, may I use your land?"

"Anything, anything at all, Angel. Just don't hurt yourself doing it. I can't stand to see you in pain." He kissed Sean again, this time for a lot longer, savoring the taste of the young man's mouth. "We should get started if you are going to the camp today and drop off the food you already grew. Maybe we will go to the Connors and see if they have a truck to lend us. Oh, and one more thing." Jack paused, seeking Sean's eyes.

Sean questionably looked up at Jack and pouted, he felt like he was going to be lectured.

"Yes, Jack."

"Next time you go for a walk, put some clothes on. I don't want you upsetting the natives. I love you like this, but sometimes it bothers others." He pulled Sean into a hug and laughed.

"You know, I hadn't noticed my state of dress. I was just so aware of everything else. But you're right. Don't want to end up in the local paper as some beast seen stalking the land in his birthday suit." The musical laughter went straight to Jack's heart. They walked slowly back to the cottage, their arms around each other's waists. Enjoying the new dawn with a greater purpose.

End Chapter 20 TBC


	21. Chapter 21

"Liam, are you mad?! I just can't do this. It doesn't seem fair." The puppy licked Sean's face.

_He was nipping at Sean's shirt, when the speaker chimed in with Liam's voice. "Sean, none of this is easy. Sweetheart, it is out of my control. You have to do it. I know it is not what you want but they insist on it. It is either that or they won't let us see each other again." His voice stopped there. He would not tell Sean the truth that if he didn't kill the puppy, he would be killed. Liam was beginning to hate what he had started here. He was going to lose Sean because of his innocent nature and his great compassion for life and all things living. But they wanted a killer, a neat as a pin assassin that could kill a person by natural means._

_To say that Liam was questioning things was an understatement. He had known Sean for almost eleven years now. He was more in love with him each and every day. He didn't want to lose him, not to them, not to anyone. He clicked the microphone off for a moment._

_Paul was standing there waiting for Sean to refuse. He was fondling the injection in his lab coat that would end Sean's life if he failed. The investors had wasted enough money and time with the young man. He was the last of the experiments still alive. But that didn't mean he was worth saving if he was a failure. "You spoil him. You should tell him the truth Liam. Let him fail and then come back to me." I still love you, was left unsaid. _

_Liam turned his head in Paul's direction. "Get out." He spoke as calm as can be._

"_Suit yourself. But I'll be waiting in my room for your return. We were so good together. That brat is nothing!"_

_Liam turned his head back to watch Sean. He winced slightly at the slamming door as Paul left. He took a deep breath and released it. Turning on the microphone Liam said. "Sean, if you don't do this, they are going to kill me." Oh god, I hate lying to him. Why oh why can't I get him out of here? He wants a life. I have to figure out a way to bargain for him. I can't let them win. No, not his mother. That creature should be here instead of the puppy. Sean should kill her, instead. If he only he knew the truth, he wouldn't hesitate. _

_Amongst the tears, Sean choke out, "Really Liam? Okay Liam." Tears were pouring down his cheeks. He saw the yellow ball of fur with its wagging tail and aged its heart until it was dead. The puppy's still warm body lay lifeless in Sean's arms. He held it close as he wailed at the end of a life. The machine beeped with the end of the puppy's life._

_Liam entered the lab and ran to sit beside the emotionally distraught Sean. He didn't hold him at first because he had his own pain at hurting the one he love. But soon reached for Sean. He held the young man as he wept openly. _

_A mechanical voice from above said. "Excellent. Well done Sean, we have all the data we need. You may go now and rest. Liam I will see you in the conference room as soon as you tend to Sean." _

"_As you wish," were the words Liam choked on. He took the puppy from Sean and gently put it on the table. Next, he pick Sean's dazed form up off the floor and brought him to their rooms. After removing the clothes from the shocked man, he kissed him as he tucked him in. "I'll be back, sweetheart. Just get some sleep."_

_Sean didn't respond, he just kept crying. Liam went to do some yelling and ask if there was perhaps another way to get their objective for Sean done without hurting the young man any more than was needed. _

_The battle was lost and Liam limped away with his tail between his legs, but he was sure he would not be separated from Sean just yet. Still, plans had to be made. He just needed to find friends in higher places than Sean's mother and her crew. He gently opened the door to the bedroom. _

_The shock before him was more than he could handle. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and shook his head. He knew he was not dreaming. There on their bed, tugging at the blanket that was draped over Sean was the little yellow ball of fur, wagging its tail._

_Sean's eyes opened as he sensed Liam near. The boy looked spent and he was sweating very much. "I'm sorry Liam, I just couldn't leave him like that, so I slipped back into the lab and brought him back to life. Please forgive me." He was very slow with the words. Plainly Sean had used up too much energy to bring the puppy back. _

_Strange, thought Liam, Sean used next to nothing to take the puppy's life but to revive it that wore him out. He would have to keep that in mind and formulate the data on the events tomorrow. Right now, a young man needed to be loved. "You did great, Sean. I would expect nothing less than this from you. Here, let me hold you while you sleep. I'm so proud of you." He cuddled up next to the young man and kissed his brow. Sean's eyes drifted closed in sleep, but he manage a very tired "I love you," before his breath grew lighter. _

"_I love you so much, Sean." He held his lover as the puppy played next to him. Liam plotted their escape. _

Jack stopped short of the road that lead to the refugees. He was unsure of what to do. Communities like this were somewhat unfriendly to outsiders. Also, he had a thought that he wanted to run past Sean before they proceeded.

"Angel, I think we should use different names. Just in case. I don't want the authorities to find out about you. Or me; the Government never really liked me much. Besides, I have been gone for some time and I think I like my autonomy for now, so I really don't want to be involved with them yet. What do you say to Bill and Ted?"

Sean looked at his lover with a straight face and raised eyebrows. "Excellent! Do we consider this an adventure?" He didn't waver from his current expression.

"Oh right, that movie. I knew those names where somehow familiar." He laughed with Sean. "Okay, bad idea. How about Brian and Justin? Wait, that was from a TV show. I suck at this, you would think with all the people I have known I could come up with two names!" He bent his head down and pouted.

"Stop pouting old man, you will get wrinkles." Sean laughed as he lifted Jack's chin up. Their eyes met as the heat ran through them. Sean loved that sensation. It was just such a Jack feeling. "George and Robert."

"Oh good! Where are they from?" Jack was generally curious.

"When I first went to the hospital. I was very lonely, so I made up friends to talk with at night, and when Liam wasn't there, also I believe during treatment. Their names were George and Robert. Jack, I remembered that!" His eyes lit up as he went for Jack's mouth. "I'm starting to remember things." He bolted out of the car. "Come along George, I think we should walk into the camp first. This way they can size us up before we bring the car in." He winked as he began to run towards the camp.

"Wait! Why am I George? Maybe I want to be Robert!" They laughed and chased each other all the way down to the camp.

_Cardiff that same moment:_

Alice reached for the empty coffee cup for the fourth time in the space of ten minutes. She was preoccupied with the new job Gwen had her doing. Martha was helping by showing her how to work her way around the security systems for UNIT. She was looking up one Dr. Paul Tabor an ex-UNIT operative who was an all around bad guy, according to her father. She was discovering that it was true. He had a history of sadism with UNIT. Torturing aliens and people when needed. But that was not the reason he was expelled from UNIT.

That reason was covered up. For some reason it was not allowed to be in his file. It was blacked out and covered. Alice smiled; remembering the little trick Mickey showed her about retrieving hidden information from blocked sections of files. What she found about Doctor Tabor was disturbing.

UNIT had him listed as dead. And not just dead, but that he had been dead for almost 20 years. Also the way he died was from a stroke. Apparently, brought on by heavy drinking. But if he was dead, then who was that in Sean's apartment? She found that odd considering her father had mentioned seeing him and he knew it was Paul Tabor. What did Jack tell Gwen? Just that only the doctor and Jack had a fling.

Reaching for the note pad, she jotted this down to relay to her father. She got up from her station and went to find a cup of coffee. The walking motion was allowing the kinks to leave her stiff legs and lower back. She glanced at her watch and sucked in her breath at the time. She had been sitting at the desk for over 6 hours pouring over information.

"I really have to watch that." She said out loud as she got to the coffee machine. Of course, it was empty. It had to be Mickey; he never made a new pot after he took the last of the old. God, this job sure did require a lot of coffee. It reminded her of something.

"_So I assume you have someone new in your life, Dad?"_

_Jack smiled at his daughter. They were at the park on what turned out to be a sunny day watching 8-year-old Steven play on the swings. "Yes, he is very special. I haven't told him that yet." Jack turned his head away from his daughter and pretended to be looking at something. Truth was he couldn't focus on anything but the Welshman at the moment. _

"_You are always the same Dad. Stop trying to be the romantic martyr. It really doesn't suit you. If you care about him and love him, then just tell him. Does he know?"_

"_What? That I'm great in bed, well yes he does!" He earned the arm smack that Alice gave him. "Yes, he knows I can't die. He is sort of okay with it. It is hard to tell with Ianto, one minute he is more than okay with it, and then he pouts and thinks that I will leave him. He just doesn't realize that someday he'll be the one doing the leaving." The thought was too dark for Jack to go further with it. Ianto would leave, death would see to that. Jack would go on and be forever lonely. That was the truth._

"_You should bring him around sometime, Dad." Jack looked at his daughter. "Oh, how much younger is he then me?" Jack didn't answer. "Oh, I see. I guess you really can't find some one your own age, Dad, but maybe you could at least try someone who is a little more mature."_

"_It isn't age, it is a question of feelings. He is different, I'll give him that, and we make a team. Does that make sense? Not to sound philosophical because you know I really don't think that way, but he completes me. I think that is why I'm scared. But he is a coffee wizard!" Jack tried his best to lighten the mood._

_She didn't hold any malice towards her Dad. She was honored that he confided in her. They looked the same age at that moment. It was strange to know that she would look older than him someday. But her heart broke for him every so often. He was such a sad man._

_She put her arm around Jack and pulled him close. He responded to the gesture with a kiss to the top of his daughter's head._

"_I Love you, Daddy!" She held back tears and settled into the strength that was her father. _

"_I will always love you, kitten!" He pulled her tighter as they watched Steven play. _

The memory was so meaningful. She was just beginning to know her father and it was not as horrid as she thought. The Torchwood records and the Captain's logs she was able to access showed him as loving and compassionate. Her mother had painted a different picture of him. Alice was just now seeing the conflict between the two. But the question she needed an answered was why didn't her father defend himself?

The coffee's finishing aroma brought Gwen to the station. She smiled at Alice as she passed Gwen a cup. "Is everything okay, Alice? You seem a little distracted."

"Well, I came across something interesting about Sean's doctor. Did you know he has been dead for almost twenty years?" She watched Gwen's face fall for a moment and then asked if she would like to help her find out the answers to the newest mystery in the life of Sean Knowlens.

The endless row of faces looked at the strange men as they entered the camp. If there was a sentry on guard, he didn't seem to have stopped them. Jack was a little apprehensive and held Sean's hand. Sean glared at him but took it anyway.

"What, can't a 2,000 year old man be scared?" He smiled at Sean's giggle.

They stood that way holding hands while a crowd grew around them. The children were the first to break the ice as one of them shouted out. "Mum, is the taller one a movie star? He looks like one." The crowd laughed as an older man in his late fifty's or early sixties came up to the couple.

"Sorry about the crowd, but we don't get many strangers. Are you boys down on your luck? Or have the cities gotten to be too out of hand? My name is Rodger Mansion. I'm kind head of the welcoming committee.

"Robert Peterson," Jack said, reaching for the Rodger's outstretched hand. Sean pinched Jack for taking the name Robert. He didn't think he look much like at George. "This is my partner, George Tracy." He pushed Sean up to shake hands with Rodger.

If Sean was mad about Jack stealing the name Robert, it vanished when Jack introduced George as his partner. He blushed slightly as he bid hello to Rodger.

"We are staying in the area on I guess you could call it a honeymoon when we heard about this place. George here is a writer and he was interested in your community. We meant no harm. But as a peace offering we brought some fresh produce. It is up in the car." Jack smiled and the crowd seemed to start to trust him.

'Boy, what a good storyteller you are, Jack', Sean thought. He was going to ask him about it later, not to mention the partner thing.

"You brought food?" An old woman said. "Well of course you're welcome, then."

"I was hoping to use it as bribe! You allow us to stay on occasion and study this place you have created, and we will bring you food and supplies when we can. Robert dear, why don't you get the car?" Sean smiled at the crowd as he kissed Jack's cheek.

"For you my love, anything!" He hugged Sean and ran up the hill.

"My, he is a handsome one." Some woman said and both male and female voices mumbled their approval.

"So George, you write for something or are you working on a book?" Rodger asked.

"I was working on a book about the recent change in society after the 456." Sean answered

The crowd seems to be growing, as the newcomers were a much need distraction from their day-to-day life. There seemed to be all types of people in the community. The beeping of the Cooper signaled Jack's return. He stopped the car, causing a lot of dust to rise from the dry dirt road. Leave it to Jack to make a grand entrance.

"It isn't much, but it is a start." Jack smiled; there were a lot of giggles towards him.

"Anything is a help. Why don't you two join us for lunch? We don't often have guests, and we would love to hear what the outside world is doing." Rodger signaled for the car to be unloaded while he led Sean and Jack to a circle with a fire pit. Jack was reminded of a film he watched where the Native Americans lead some soldiers to similar place in the Old West. He remembered the soldiers were killed or something by their hosts. He hoped that wasn't the case here. He swallowed his fears as Sean held his hand again. He was beginning to wonder when he developed an over active imagination!

End Chapter 21 TBC


	22. Chapter 22

Apprehension still plagued Jack as the refugees welcomed them into their midst. In his past when he had come across groups of humans like this, they were usually sullen and not very warm. These people were oozing cheer and good will. He laughed inwardly for a moment and thought 'whatever these folks have been smoking, I want some.' Then he remembered that last time he part took in such things, he smiled, ah youth!

They led the couple to the gathering spot in the camp. Sean had offered to help unload the Cooper, but Rodger said no. "It is enough you bought us supplies. Now we can share lunch with you at least." He grinned from ear to ear as drinks were bought out to the guests.

Sean took what looked like a homemade glass of wine and drank. "Wow, that is delicious! Did you make this here?" He drained the glass and was given more.

A young reddish haired man in his early twenties stepped up and introduced himself. "Hello my name is Phil. I made the wine you are drinking. I always wanted to do something with my hands and wine making seemed as good a deal as any." He blushed slightly when he looked at Jack.

Sean, seeing the young man's state tried to ice it down by getting Phil to talk about the wine. Jack nudged Sean with his shoe ever so slightly in thanks. It must be boring for a man like Jack to constantly have to be the center of attention. He seemed to attract more attention when he was trying to stay inconspicuous. "This isn't made with grapes, is it Phil?" He locked on Phil's eyes, which lit up with the passion of any true artisan about questions with his work.

"No sir, I use berries, whatever I can pick or get from the markets cheaply, and then we sell the stuff. Granted, it is no big living, but it is for filling to the soul. And at the end of the day, I feel like a man again. Not like a lump of shit that I use to feel like working out there." He waved his arms off towards the outlying areas.

Sean was starting to see that these people had layers to their personas. They were not the displaced, but the free. Also, there was an overwhelming sense of contentment and belonging amongst the group he met. This was a unique chance as a doctor to study the mental behavior of group of societal misfits living in what appeared to be a functional home. Hopefully, he and Jack would be able to set up house and stay for a very long time. When he got a chance, he would talk to Jack about his idea for a long-term project.

Holding his glass up again for more, Sean earned look from Jack. He clinked Jack's glass and took a long drink of the sweet liquid. Jack was giggling and wondering how pliable the young doctor was going to be after a few more of those to drink. "Phil, come sit by me and tell me of your wine artistry."

Sean giggled as an old grandmother came by and gave Jack some bread and cheese. Sean laughed when she went "The hell with it," and fell into his lap, straddling Jack and sucking the life out of him with a kiss. After the kiss ended, she held up her hands in victory, wink at the confused and blinking Jack and stated. "Sometimes ladies and gentlemen, you just have to take the bull by the balls and kiss the piss out of him."

There was much applause as she strutted around the group and someone yelled. "Harriet, didn't you mean 'by the horns?'" The group was howling at this point. Jack still looked shocked but then began smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"You take your bull by the horns Mary, I take mine by the balls!" The crowd exploded with howls. Everyone began to laugh and talk and before long the musicians chimed in and they danced to signify the beginning of the party.

Sean was amused as a small group swooped Jack up, and they pulsed to the center of the ring with the beat of the song. The song seemed to be a combination of modern rock and folk with a touch of Celtic traditional melodies. He would have to snag some of the musicians later and ask about the origins behind the amazing beat and melodies as well as the lyrics. The trained voice of the young cherub looking girl was so pleasing. She possessed a great talent for bard work.

Jack caught Sean's stare as he watched the Immortal forced into step by the old women who knew Jack was pretty, but they were beginning to see him as having two left feet. Sean just wished these grannies of loose morals would stop grabbing his lover's ass cheeks. The goings on with the women forced Jack to plead with Sean to save him. As cute as it was, and as romantic as a dance seemed to the younger man, he mouthed the words, "Not a chance you are on your own," at him. And with the broadest of grins he settled him self down to watch the merriment and Jack's fall from confidence. Besides, he was enjoying his conversation with Phil.

With the return trip in the surge of dancers, Jack yelled out, "George, you are so going to regret this!" A sadistic granny tugged at Jack's shirt, pulling him back in step.

"Sonny, you can make love to your man any time. But I'm not getting any younger, so humor the old lady in front of you - shut up and dance!"

Jack's infectious laughter hit the whole group of dancers. With the tone for the party set the men settled themselves in to have the time of their lives.

_Cardiff 2005 December 23__rd__:_

I ran with Sean today. I don't know where we are heading. I just can't let him suffer like this anymore. He was out on his first assignment today. He killed some foreign dignitary as his task. He hasn't said a word since they bought him back to me. I hate them. We are in a hotel in Cardiff and I can't seem to think. I know they will find us. I just want him to have one moment away. God, he won't even look at me.

He just finished school; they wanted him to have a normal job so he just blends in. At least he chose to be a psychiatrist.

I just tried to touch him and he pushed me away. Is he blaming me? Oh god what if he is? I reached to kiss him. He folds a little into the kiss and then sobbed into my arms. He is broken. I don't know how to help him.

I do the only thing I can do and I make love to him. He is asleep in my arms and I worked out the bargain with those devils, as I will make them give him his life back. I pick up the phone and call Peter.

Peter isn't surprised at the offer, but he wants to be sure that Sean remember him. I tell him that there are no guarantees with a mind wipe. But if he does this one more kill they may let us go at least for a little while. With that Peter agrees to negotiate terms for us. I look at his son, who is crying in his sleep. I reach for my lover and caress his cheek. His tears mark the already visible stains on his pale skin. I love you, Sean. I'm so sorry about this. I will make it right by you. Just be strong, my beauty. My creation, you have such a great capacity at love, they can't take that from you. I promise!

"_Just remember Ianto, we have tickets to that show tonight." Jack didn't even know the name let alone wanted to go. But Ianto was determined to spend their "Anniversary" out of the Hub. _

"_I bought them Jack, so forgetting is not on the list. Besides, it is you that has to watch the forgetting part." Ianto remained stone faced as he brought the cups of coffee down to the others. Heading for Tosh first, he could feel Jack burn a hole in to his backside as he watched his bum. "And you can just stop that as well!" The Welshman spoke over his shoulder._

"_I wasn't doing anything but admiring perfection. Especially in that suit." Jack's smile also burned into Ianto, but that was into his soul more then his backside. _

_Owen stared at the banter as Ianto passed, waiting it to die down in order to ask him a question. He retrieved his mug from the passing Ianto and sipped it deeply. "Ianto, this is by far the best coffee I have ever had. What is your secret?" Ianto could see that Owen's smile was false. _

"_I'm not doing your report for you, I have other things to do!" He paused to give Owen that piece of information but the next thing out of his mouth had Jack falling down the steps laughing. "Oh and I pee in each cup. That is my special blend." He then went to Tosh._

_Owen spat his mouthful onto the floor. He began to gag. He looked at the Welshman, but Ianto had slipped away heading for the Archives. _

_Tosh walked up to Owen and patted his back. The doctor was making a recovery, and was looking for something to clean the mess up with. _

"_Owen, he is only teasing, you really have to stop letting him get to you. I'm sure if you just let it go, the two of you could be friends." She was twinkling at him, the way she always sought his eyes and the soft plea she indirectly showed for him to notice her. _

"_I know it is a joke Tosh, Ianto wouldn't pee in a cup of coffee."_

_Without missing a beat the recovered voice from above of Jack Harkness chimed in. "Or would he?" Jack chuckled as he retreated to his office. _

_Owen and Tosh both looked at their cups. Wit in a moment they ran to the medical bay for some quick analyzing of the contents of their cups. _

_Jack closed the door, and wondered what had got Ianto so prickly. They have been okay lately, better than okay. Now with Gwen married, it was more than okay. For some reason Ianto was not holding back so much. Jack blamed himself for that. It was after Gwen's wedding that they had the "talk" and it was starting to sink in. He was in love with Ianto, he knew this, but that didn't mean he felt he was right for Ianto._

_Ianto begged to differ. The argument ended with Ianto being even more then determined to stay with Jack. According to Ianto that was were he knew his heart to be. Jack's heart sank. He knew this to be folly, for Jack knew that he himself never won when it came to love. There was always something pulling him away, and then he would leave. That something he had no control over. That's what had him so against being a "couple". He knew as soon as the words were confirmed that it would be over and he would be alone again. Because with the life of Captain Jack Harkness, some things were plainly never meant to be._

_He smacked himself figuratively for the negative thoughts that surfaced. He really didn't want to hurt anyone. But he hurt more than any of them; his pain was forever. But wish Ianto, the magic that is Ianto Jones, the pain grew less and less. The ice from past failures melted when Ianto confessed his feelings and said he would never expect anything more from Jack than what Jack could give him. _

_Jack wanted to give his amazing lover the world. But the world and the universe always had other plans. So Jack just settled for more time with his beautiful man. But he was getting too close and he knew when that happened, his heart would be broken. The loneliness would take over and he would be apart from this human race again. He was so alone, so much; that he was starting to give in and forget what it was like to really be alive. Which was strange for a man who can never die._

_That night after the wedding, Jack came back to look at pictures of Elaine and remember that for a little bit he was just a man, with a wife, a home and a job. But in a blink of an eye it was removed from his reach, and he hated her, hated it all. But he crawled out of the dark place and stood in the light, again and again. _

_Ianto found him in such a state that he told Jack he would never let go for whatever reason. It wasn't enough to stop the whole pain, but after they made love it was enough for that light to shine again. Jack loved his Welshman even if those words were never said. _

_It was with these thoughts that the newest light opened the office door without knocking busting into the memory from that night. Ianto stood there as if Jack's darkened mood had summoned the pale Jones demon. Jack just looked at the face of the young man as if it were the first time. _

_Ianto stood there holding his breath, waiting for Jack to speak. It was obvious that something was on his Captain's mind. The slight blush crept up Ianto's neck and settled in the pale of his cheeks. He was suddenly scared to be in the same room with Jack. As he could feel the heat rise, Ianto was seriously thinking that Jack was going to say good-bye. He began to panic. _

_Then the smell hit him, Jack's smell, Ianto swooned a little, falling slightly into the door. _

_Jack was in front of him in a flash, stopping him from falling backwards any further. The touch was too much and Ianto fell forward in to Jack's awaiting lips. The two struggled to put so much into the kiss that Jack didn't realize Ianto was pushing him backwards. He tripped over something on the floor and fell onto his back with a crash. _

_They didn't hear the knocks on the office door and voices asking Jack if everything was okay. The loud moan from Ianto as they pressed up against each other in their excited state gave away the activity in the room._

_Jack heard Owen say. "You'd think they could wait until we leave, some of us are dead and we can't enjoy it anymore!" It was said as a joke and the others laughed. Gwen suggest they go to lunch for a few. Ianto breathed easier when he heard the clack of the stairs in use and started to unbutton Jack's shirt. _

_Jack gave up and allowed his Welshman into his heart. They lay there for sometime afterwards amongst the pillows stolen from the couch. The words didn't escape Jack's lips but they were definitely understood. Ianto slept, unaware that Jack was crying. _

Sean lost sight of Jack as he allowed the wine to turn him into a social butterfly. He was enjoying just talking to people. Each conversation was different and each debate was fascinating. Sean found himself in the center of the group known as the Philosophers. They were debating about the 456 and other related topics. He was aware that they kept looking at him and he began to get nervous.

"George, you can join it if you wish, we love when people discuss things. Don't be afraid. We are all friends here." The man's name was John and he seemed to be the leader or head of the group. There was also Rita and Sammy, Paula and Fletch and a few others that Sean didn't quite catch their names. They were not willing to give last names, even though it was understood that they would trust Sean with it.

"Names don't mean anything here. We are just who we are and that's really all it is." Rita spoke. "Oh I got to go!" She stood and brushed off the dirt from the rock she was sitting on. At 5'6" she was a lovely woman with blond hair and blue eyes. She smiled at Sean, who admired her looks. "I have clean up duty and I believe they are making a special dessert for you in the baker's tent. I'll see you around!" She waved at him after tying her hair up in a ponytail.

He never paid attention to women much, but she was a very pretty one.

"You would have to be dead not to notice her charms, my friend." Fletch chimed in. "I think most of the camp can see them." He watched her disappear around the edge of one of the tents.

Sean suppressed a giggle at the longing in Fletch's gaze. The man was a giant, around 6'4" and towered over everyone. Although he had a booming voice in discussion, the dark black haired man was soft and shy around Rita. Now he had a profound look of hopelessness on his face. Sean thought there might be a chance for the pair but he didn't see it working.

"Your husband and you George, have you been together long?" Paula asked to change the subject. She was in her mid forties and on the round side. She was not shy at all and had these amazing clear blue eyes and a sharp wit. Sean was feeling very warm towards her; she just made him feel like he belonged.

He didn't want to lie, but he couldn't tell them the truth either. So he did the next best thing; he didn't do either. "It seems like forever and yet no time at all. He has that way of making time non-existent when we are together. Robert," he almost said Jack, " is a very amazing man, he has an immortal feeling for life. He just can't see it ending." They poured him more wine. After that statement, he should think about cutting himself off soon. But what harm would one glass do and it tasted so good besides. "To Phil and his magic elixir! I think that is why I love Robert." Okay that L word just showed up. That was not in this deal at all. He didn't think love was going to happen. What would Liam say to him loving another man?

Sean shook his wine soaked brain and laughed a little. He real need to move around just then and nature called. "Um, Paula where does one relieve themselves?"

She laughed as she replied. "Oh, is the wine running through you? Follow me. I need a walk anyway. You look like you need to find Robert. The way the Grannies like him, you may never see him again. They latch on to a pretty man and that's it and you will never get him back! There is a legend that they eat them for their beauty and youth!" She laughed and handed Sean a swig from the wine sack she was carry.

"Then they are only going to be satisfied with half a meal. For young he is not." It fell out of his mouth. He felt ashamed of himself. Luckily for him, a juggler distracted Paula.

"I so want to learn how to do that! Come on George, after you pee, let's give it a try." She grabbed his hand and ran with him to the bathroom. All the way shouting, "Make way man ready to explode from too much wine!" The group parted to let them through.

Jack was sitting with Rodger in a quieter part of the camp. It oversaw the whole party but was quite enough to sit and talk without being challenged. It was on this slight hill that Rodger and Jack watched the comings and goings of the people of the community. Many stopped to thank Jack for the food. They hoped that his partner would come back soon so they could thank him as well. Jack was feeling the warmth from this group. He was also worried about Sean, who seemed to have wandered off. But he was so relaxed and enjoying this slice of humanity pie that he didn't want to be bothered with getting up. It also seemed that in this spot people came to them, so Sean would eventually find his way back.

Rodger was a wealth of information about their little colony. They were squatters. They stole the land from the locals. The locals didn't seem to mind anymore. But at first, there were a lot of threats and even a few random fires to tents and belongings. In the end, the locals realized that they weren't the enemy; it was the government that allowed it to happen. So they made their peace and allowed the locals to be part of the community during holidays.

"But don't you miss modern life at all? What about the news or outside information? How about the Internet? Don't you miss any of it?" Jack awaited an answer from Rodger.

"Can I say something Robert, and don't take this wrong. But you look like a person that doesn't care much for the stuff you mentioned. So why ask me that? I think we think alike. That somewhere along this road of humanity, we took the wrong turn and left everything we loved behind. I look at you and see a person that really didn't fit in where he came from and somehow seemed to find a place where he made perfect sense."

Jack blinked at the way he put that. The man was right. "But getting there and staying there cost so much." He didn't mean the sudden admission, but it was there. Rodger was reminding him of a friend Jack once had. Someone he had known in the agency. The type of person that took the time to really look inside and care, Rodger was a rare breed and so was Jack's lost friend.

"But you kind of made it, I see." He winked at Jack, causing the Immortal to smile. "I also think that you are not who you seem to be. Robert doesn't fit you." Jack tensed up but Rodger held his hands up in defense. "Hey, it is okay, there isn't one of us here that aren't on the run or hiding from something or just plain fed up. Whatever your name or story is, I don't care. But just for the record Robert, you are not alone. We all have our secrets. Besides, you gave yourself away." Rodger winked at Jack with a smile.

"How did I do that?" Jack always thought he was a better actor than that. He was feeling a little embarrassed at the loss of his skills to con. But he was not worried about Rodger giving them up to the authorities. Still, for his own safety Rodger didn't need to know the truth, at least not yet.

"You command respect. By that face you have, I'm not saying you're conceited. No that's not what I meant. People looked up to you and trusted you at one point, like in the military. I know these things. I worked for the government but left when the truth about the 456 was exposed. I didn't want to betray the country I love and myself ever again. I think you know what I mean, Jack." It was a bold action to use Jack's name out loud. Rodger thought for sure that he was going to scare the Captain away. He hoped that it wouldn't make a difference. He understood all that Jack Harkness was going through. "I stepped over a trust. But what you did, what you had to do, it sucked on so many levels. But it had to be done. I can understand that. I won't speak any more of it. I am deeply sorry for ruining any chance of a friendship, though."

"Oh Rodger, no, that is never possible, unless you betray me. But I don't think you could do that. We are on the same page with that. I will be back again. Just stay with Robert when we are in mixed company. I'm not ready to come out from hiding yet! " Jack stood tall, a proud illusion of the greatcoat wove around him and he offered his hand to his newest in the long list of friends and allies.

Rodger stood, the wind blowing through his graying hair and revealing more of his angular face. For a moment Jack recognized him, but it was fleeting. Rodger extended his hand in greeting. Jack took it and furthered the feeling with a bear hug. They laughed and danced a little before they broke apart by the commotion coming from the camp.

At first it just looked like a crowd of people making merriment but at closer inspection, it was a bunch of jugglers practicing their craft for the people in the circle. The two friends looked at each other, shrugged and decided to join the activity.

As if on command, the sun sparkled through the clouds to land on Sean. He stood in the middle of the group, as Jack would later describe him as the juggling angel. For that was what he was doing. Granted, it was just a couple of old tennis balls, but he was making it look spectacular. Jack looked at Rodger and said. "He must of just learned that, he never mentioned it before."

"Well he is hanging out with Paula." He pointed to the chunky woman next to Sean. "She has a way of getting people involved!" He laughed wholeheartedly as they walked down the hill towards the entertainment.

Sean was doing a spin and catching the balls before bowing as he finish, when he caught sight of Jack. He smiled so honestly at the man that Jack felt his heart soar with love. He knew he was falling; Sean was going to catch him. Jack sat next to Rodger and watched the performance. A little girl with wavy black hair and blue eyes appeared next to him. For a moment he thought it was Alice when she was around four. She wasn't as beautiful as Alice was but she was a pretty little thing all the same.

Hugging tightly to her little stuffed cat, the little girl stared at Jack. "Can I sit in you lap? I can't find my Daddy." She smiled at him.

Rodger smiled at the girl and seemed to know her. "Robert, this is Trisha, her father is that man three away from Sean." The girl pouted at the realization that she was caught fibbing. Rodger leaned into Jack's ear and whispered. "She has a crush on you."

"Well who am I to deny a pretty lady anything? Nice to meet you Trisha, climb up and watch the show with us!"

Some things no matter how small mean the most. The little girl was tickled pink to be with Jack. She was very good and didn't move too much. Snuggling into his chest, she began to suck her thumb and clutch the cat. She looked like a little princess on a living throne. Jack thought it was funny that he was just reduced to a piece of furniture.

Sean caught sight of Jack as he settled in the circle. The little girl safe on his lap was so precious; he wished he had brought the camera. Paula handed him the wine sack for a swig before he went over to Jack. His head was spinning, but it wasn't in a bad way.

"I see I've been replaced," Sean teased. Walking with the grace of a dancer he strolled up to Jack and Rodger.

Jack gulped slightly at the vision Sean portrayed. Jack was falling and this Angel was going to raise him up. It was just so right. For the first time Jack felt like he fit in with the world. The people and they merriment, this little girl cuddling on his lap, and the man next to him, who didn't hate Captain Jack Harkness, but above all, at the top, was his Angel. The light blinded him to the point of tears.

"Robert, are you okay?" Sean, even with concern in his voice didn't slip out of character.

"I've never been better. You look like you're having fun without me." Sean did seem to be in great sprits. They shared a smile as their eyes locked. Bother men looked away at the same time, they realized that if it continued they would have to find a quiet place to be alone. Jack loved the beginning of things, it was always fresh and you didn't care what anyone thought. That incredible high at the beginning that made the world seem spotless. This time he knew that nothing was going to make this relationship black with soot. He went through too much of that with Ianto. It was time for a change.

"Well, I met some interesting people and I got swept away with the moment. Of course Phil's wine helped!" His deep chuckle was music to Jack's ears. Sean was starting to live. And right now that was how Jack felt for once, alive.

Just then a magician came over to entertain the small group that started to accumulate around the new comers. He was producing things out of people's ears and shirts allowing the crowd laugh and applauded. The tricks were fairly normal. But the mood they were in, Jack and Sean took it all in as part of the new life they were given.

The magician was in front of Sean waving around his hands. With the quick of skill of his trade he pulled an egg out of Sean's ear and handed to him. Sean smiled and thanked him. The crowd that gathered applauded and cheered.

What surprised Jack was the casual way Sean made it seem, like he was part of the act. He held the egg up for all to see and with a swift unperceivable wave of his hand; he produced a living breathing chick. The crowd went mad with cheers, and shouts of "that was amazing!" and "Bloody fantastic, mate." Sean took a deep bow and handed the chick to the little girl in Jack's lap. The stuffed cat was lost on the ground as the little girl ran to her father to show him.

The group gathered around Sean and cheered him on. Jack reached down and picked up the abandoned stuffed animal and looked at it. He lost his smile as the reality sunk in. In his mind he hoped the feeling of dread would pass.

End Chapter 22 TBC

**Authors note: I know Owen was dead and couldn't drink coffee, but I had a thought that like at the bar, he would carve something from the living world. And who can refuse a cup of Ianto Jones' special brew.**


	23. Chapter 23

The events of the day should have worn the two men out. But it didn't stop them from touching each other the whole way home. Jack had to put an end to that because the darkness was making it difficult to see the pitch-black country road heading towards the cottage. "Safety first! " Jack joked. Sean rolled his eyes and shifted in his seat to try and get more comfortable in his aroused state.

Sean was looking out of the open window, hoping the cool air would calm things down a bit. As he hummed one of the tunes from the camp band, he had an amusing thought. Would ice water even stop Jack form being sexually aroused? He pondered this for a bit, while watching the night outside. He was convinced that Jack never was not 'ready, willing and able.'

But Jack was acting a little bit off right now. Sean had been trying to get into his pants for some time since the magic show. But Jack kept moving away. So Sean just decided to let it be and he ended up running around with Paula the rest of the day. Jack stayed with Rodger and they seemed be lost in their own little world. Sean just shrugged it off and had fun. It seemed easier. But there was something wrong. Sean was growing more and more upset the further they got away from the safe haven. He shut down and didn't talk the rest of the way home. Sean, glancing over at Jack watching the road, knew he had lost Jack's interest.

Sean's heart sank; his worst fears were coming true. Jack was beginning to see him as a freak of nature. Maybe even what Sean did was too much for an Immortal man and his universal experiences. Sean inverted further and further into himself.

They drove home in silence.

The house was dark; Jack retrieved a flashlight from the car in order to get himself to the front door. The sky was overcast and it was threatening to rain. He entered the house noticing that Sean was not with him. The chill in the air changed his thoughts of finding Sean to starting a fire first. Lighting some kerosene lamps along the way, he stooped down in front of the fireplace and began to get the fire going. The fire eventually took off and Jack reflected on the events of the day. He needed to explain to Sean that he couldn't be so careless.

The thing that bothered Jack the most was Sean's full potential. The young man was becoming comfortable with his power. There was also question of the memory loss. The key was in finding out what had happened to Sean. The kind of memory loss Sean suffered was not from a simple car accident; it was closer to brain damage. Finely tuned and precise, very intentional memory loss. Whoever it was who had done it and why it was done were the questions on Jack's mind. How did Paul figure into this? Why did Paul not remember him? They were close for some time. Maybe not lovers, but still... "I'm rather unforgettable!" Jack joked with himself.

Poking at the fire, he waited for Sean to come into the house. The kitchen door clicked shut, footsteps indicating that Sean was in the sitting room. His entrance was quiet. The room fell silent except for the crackling of the fire. Jack was at a loss as to where to start. But it had to be said.

"Sean I'm not pleased with what you did today. To give into your power could lead them to us. All it takes is one person to see it differently or maybe be a little more observant than the rest of the crowd, and we could be reported." He didn't look at his lover. He was afraid of what he might see, rejection perhaps for bringing down a very happy day. Jack didn't know what else to do. He was just so afraid of all they had being taken away from them. As he knelt before the fire, he rested his head on his knees. "If I fail you…"

"How in the world could you think that? I wouldn't let them touch you or me. Not again. I'm starting to remember, Jack. Some of it is coming back so rapidly that I have to sort it out. But right now after today, they can't touch me. Besides, you could never fail me."

Those words hit home to both men. The bond they shared was very strong. Today had brought them closer by sharing a happy memory together. It was the thought that Sean could be killed that hung in the air between both of them. Crossing his legs, Sean seated himself on the couch and waited for Jack to speak.

"Sean, I think we should put this project on hold. They have food and it may bring too much attention. What if your power is traceable? I have to get back in touch with Torchwood to see if they have picked anything up from your recent usage. Sean, we should go to the Connors, I can use the electricity at the farm to do a little more research, touch base with the team. We could spend the day there." He still stared at the fire.

"And won't that cause suspicion?" There was the anger that Jack could feel raising in his lover. Sean was getting very pissed at all this. Sean realized how long the day had been and how distant that happy memory was becoming. The wine's departure from his blood stream was giving him a headache.

"They are old friends of mine, I can trust them. We used to work together. I can't tell you any more than that." The blunt cool sound of Jack's voice made Sean shiver a bit.

"Fine, you go without me, I have work to do." He got up to leave. Secrets, always secrets, he had only two men in his life and both found it hard to let him make his own decisions. Well, Liam was dead; Jack had no claim to Sean, only if Sean decided he should have anything at all. "I'm going to bed. If you want you can join me, if not, oh well. I'm too tired to fight, and I will give what I can to those people, I don't care what happens later. I may only have now!"

He left and Jack swore he heard Sean stumble slightly as he thundered up the stairs. As if it was on cue, the rain let loose and was timed with the falling of the Immortal man's tears. Jack hugged his knees tighter and watched the fire burn out as he listened to the pouring rain and the light breathing of an Angel asleep upstairs.

Later that night:

The tight hold Jack had on Sean was annoying. Sean didn't know when Jack had come upstairs to bed. The stress from the day, coupled with the argument they had, and of course the wine had bought unpleasant fitful dreams to Sean. Jack found him tossing around the bed. He pulled the young man tight against himself and wouldn't let go of Sean. He didn't mind normally, but right now Nature called and he was really confused by the dreams he'd been having. Liam was talking to him and Paul was laughing. He woke with the feelings of dread hanging around his subconscious.

He had thoughts of decaying Jack's arms off so he could get free. After all, they would grow back was the other thought ran through the young man's head. It was far too gross an idea, so he opted to wiggle out of Jack's chokehold instead.

Jack just tightened his hold on Sean. He whispered for the Immortal to let go.

He wondered why he whispered it; no one was there to hear him. He said a little louder, "Jack, let go! I have to pee!'

"Fine Ianto, if you have to go then go, don't make a big deal about it!" Jack grumbled, releasing Sean and turning over to the other side of the bed.

It was silent except for the heavy breathing of Jack returning to sleep. The bed squeaked as Sean rose. He was going to get out bed but something made Sean stop dead in his tracks. As soon as the words escape his mouth "he just called me Ianto" the image of a naked Ianto rose out of the bed, passing through Sean.

Paralyzed with fear as the ghost Ianto walked out the door, Sean began to sweat. Jack continued to snore. Shaking himself to make sure he was awake, he heard the door open and ran to the window to see Ianto in the buff marching down the path to the stream.

A quick look at Jack showed that he was still asleep. Sean threw on a shirt and shorts and ran after the ghostly image. He smashed into the wall rounding the corner by the stairs before he flew through the open door out to the garden and down to the stream. He caught a glimpse of Ianto before he disappeared.

He let nature have its way, while he thought about what just happened. Jack said that the night he brought Ianto here, they had a fight and Ianto stayed in the car. But it was plain that he was just in the bed. It was then he realized he could still feel Ianto passing through him. It fell over him and he slipped down into the abyss. The question was, was Ianto always in their bed? Sean felt his chest tighten ripping his heart apart.

What was this all about? Sean was shaking when he heard distant shouting. He turned to the direction of the sounds. It was in the direction of Elaine's field.

Sean reached the glade where he heard the shouting. It was just past Elaine's field. It was the sound of two male voices and they were still too far to hear what the commotion was about. Sean thought for caution's sake he should head back and get Jack. Jack's fears slapped Sean in the face as the Immortal's words echoed in his ears. What if this was a trap? Maybe they were at the house already?

He took a breath before he then followed the voices. They seemed to be growing loud which meant he was getting closer in the dark. He saw the figures in the clearing. One was trying to prevent the other from moving by stepping in front of him. The ghostly image came with the eerie light that exposed the scene. To Sean this felt like watching an image in time.

The time displacement for lack of a better term but it seemed to fit better in Sean's head was almost like one was watching a film, like the event was recorded. There in the scene stood Jack and Ianto. They were fighting. They seemed to be unaware that Sean was there.

"Damn it, Jack! Just this once, let me in! I don't understand why you can't tell me about that grave!" Ianto threw his arms up in frustration. "I wish just once you would consider me someone you could talk to." The Welshman's look of defeat stopped Jack in his tracks.

"There are just some things I don't even want to talk about, Elaine is one of them. Ianto, it shouldn't make any difference about my past, I'm here with you now. Isn't that what matters?" Jack was near tears. He was frustrated with Ianto's reaction.

Sean was aware of the effort that Jack was putting forward in order to keep his cool. He saw that Ianto was missing that in Jack's mannerism. Sean wondered how after being Jack's lover for so long, Ianto didn't see the pain that he was causing in Jack. By not backing down and being persistent, which are traits Sean saw in Mr. Jones, Ianto put Jack in great conflict. He was missing so much of Jack with his own selfishness. Sean realized that the two men were always at odds because Jack loved so many and so much and Ianto had a limited time to love just a few, and one was an Immortal that would go on without him.

It was at that moment that Sean saw Jack and understood why he distanced himself from the young doctor. Jack was afraid, scared that Sean was giving himself away. The happiness that Jack found with Sean was fleeting every time Sean used his abilities, much the same that every time Jack told Ianto about his past. Ianto would waste the little time they had by fighting with Jack.

"Ianto please, let's go back to the cottage, I just want to spend some time with you."

"_But I need honesty as well. You know everything about me. I know nothing about you!_

I can't - I don't think that it would be me in that bed. It would be her. Jack, I'll be in the car. We leave at first light."

"But isn't it enough that he loves you, Ianto?" Sean said to the images from the past. "He will love you forever. Ianto, you don't need to know his life before you, his life with you at that moment is what's important. I wish you could hear me." Sean's voice trailed off in defeat as the ghostly images locked onto each other.

The light bathed them in a heavenly aura as Jack reached for Ianto. Without ever touching, Ianto turned and left Jack standing with the cool night air blowing around him. He wrapped his arms around himself both from the cold and from the feeling of eternal loneliness.

Sean watched the scene melt away as the land returned to normal. He could smell Jack behind him. Closing his eyes he took in the presence of the Immortal before turning to face him. Did Jack see the scene as well?

Jack saw the light fade, He heard the words Sean spoke to the air but he didn't quite catch what the young man had just seen. He reached for Sean with words.

"Sean, I'm sorry. You have to understand; one slip and they will find us. I may not be able to die, but I'm not a superman. And though I will do my best to protect you, even I can't fight them. So we have to be careful. The project to feed our friends has to be done with caution. I know now it is what needs to be accomplished. I just have this fear that I will wake up to them dragging you off and me to some dark place that I have no means out of. I have been to those places. Knowing you can't escape in death and you are a prisoner forever." He held his head down, looking at his feet.

"Jack I would never let them do that to you. But if they find us, they will just kill me. I know this. I would rather live now and know I did something than die and never have felt this, what I feel when you are near."

Jack didn't feel he deserved the younger man's words. Sean's heart spoke to him. Jack in all his life could finally just give in. There was nothing Sean would hate him for. There was nothing that Jack did or ever could do that Sean wouldn't forgive him for.

In the shadow of past events the lovers embraced. Jack forgot to ask what Sean had seen before he arrived. Sean still had no idea how Jack had found him. None of it mattered as they kissed. They loved one another in the rain soaked clearing, as the sounds of the night creatures grew loud around them. Both men called to each other in climax. Sweet gentle kisses returned them back to the world around them. They lay there as the cool night air-dried their sweat.

Sean was the first to shiver. "Let's head home." Jack smiled and took another kiss. He liked the sound of those words.

End Chapter 23 TBC


	24. Chapter 24

_The cheap hotel was beginning to grate on Liam. He really needed to get Sean out of here. Peter was no help. He was insisting that Liam return Sean to the hospital. It was a growing concern with Liam that Peter was not wholly on his side. Peter was a constant follower and as far as Sean is concerned, he would make sure his son was safe, even if it meant killing what little bit was left of Sean's humanity. Peter would betray them. That much was certain._

_All Liam wanted was for Sean to be free. He owed his lover that. "I gave you life, but you haven't lived. Sean, I really have ruined things for you. God, I'm so sorry." His thoughts were confused with guilt. He had to fix this._

_Peter talked to the "Group" with Liam suggestion to get Sean out of the mess Liam designed for him. It fell through. If they returned now, all would be forgiven. If they were pursued, Sean would be mind wiped and Liam – well, let's say would close his lab for good and never walk the earth alive again. There was no choice. Peter merely stated it was for the best._

_"Of course you would say that. You want me away from your son. You never wanted me to love him. You were upset the moment Sean told you he loved me. Sometimes I think you have some sick ideas of your own for your son. That was wrong to think. God, I'm so angry." He entered the hotel room to find Sean watching TV. He was showered and dressed. His hair was still damp when he looked over at Liam and radiated a sunlit smile._

_"I'm glad you're back. I just got off the phone with my Da. Liam, I don't want to go back. But if it means saving your life, I will." He stood and walked towards his lover._

_"Sean, your Da means well, but I can't let you suffer anymore. I think we can sneak out of the country. I can't guarantee we will make it, but least we will be free. You will be free, I owe you that." He reached and fell into the embrace of his young lover. He gathered him up in a sensuous kiss and breathed in his love. 'God, this man is so full of love. How did I ever make him a killer?' Liam really hated all that he had achieved. But in the end his achievements allowed him to hold this very special man. That must say something about him. There is a fine line between good and bad. Liam knew this; he crossed that road every single day of his adult life._

_The price for playing God was in his arms. He held Sean tighter, allowing the excitement to build. He was really in love with Sean. Not the creation, but this wonderful young man that he was going to not stop fighting for. The next words spoken sealed their fate._

_"We should go back, Liam. My Da said we would be safe, but if you feel that it isn't a good idea, I will do whatever you say. I really don't know any better. I'm so useless with these things." He smiled._

_'He can still smile even after all this. He still looks at me with love and devotion. I will keep you safe.' Liam swore as he melted into Sean's kisses. He undressed the young man and falling onto the bed, they shared pleasures._

_"We'll go back, but what you have to do, will upset you Sean. Just one more kill and they make you forget the whole deal. You and I can live together, and we can marry if you want." He nestled into Sean's long hair and kissed the smooth lips full with spent passion._

_"You won't let me forget you, right Liam? I will remember you and my Da, just say that I won't forget you."_

_He didn't have that answer, he hoped that would be the case, and then they just put the pieces back together. Liam was scared, for the first time ever he was scared. But he would be there for Sean. Unsure how to answer him, Liam finally spoke. "No, you won't forget your Da or me, my husband to be, marry me Sean, be my love forever." He kissed the warmth in Sean's mouth and began to cry._

_"Yes, don't cry, yes I will be yours forever." Sean let go of the uneasy thoughts of another kill and just thought about Liam's body. The way the two of them moved was the only memory Sean needed to sustain him._

The Little Country Cottage where Jack once lived:

He found Sean perched on the table in the garden talking to the bluebird. The way they interacted it would seem as if they understood each other. The bird carefully took seeds out of Sean's hand as Sean petted the bird with equal care. Then it happened. The bird spotted Jack and came at him. Jack silently wished he had a hat on; he really had no desire to clean himself again.

The bird landed on Jack's shoulder and chirped at him. Sean began to chuckle. Holding his sides, he was turning colors trying not to make anything more out of the panic to confused look that washed over Jack's face. The bird pecked lightly at his cheek, almost like a kiss.

"Isn't that cute, he likes you." Sean gently smiled at the Immortal.

"I think it's a diversion, he'll bomb me later when I least expect it. Won't you, my little friend?" The bird just cooed at Jack and started to sing. "You see, he is trying to confuse me into thinking we are friends and then with my guard down, bang! He craps on my head. Bet he even blames it on another bird, just to cover his tracks." The bird unimpressed with Jack's monologue flew away.

Sean was giggling at Jack. "You have a way with words, Captain. I'll say that about you." Sean blushed when they locked gazes. He was wondering what a life would be like with this man, just like this, no cares, no pain and above all no abilities, just them, alone in this paradise they had made. But that was just a vision, not the real future. The thought made Sean think about last night. If he could see events from the past, could he not conceivably see the future?

Sean's distant thoughts worried Jack. It was then that he brought up the previous night, as he sat next to the young man on the table. Reaching for his soft hand, he spoke.

"What did you see last night? I heard you say something to the light but it vanished by the time I got close enough. Sean, what was it that had you crying into the night?" His other hand tilted Sean's chin up to capture his eyes.

"Ianto, you called me Ianto in bed last night. I just needed to go pee and I was trying to get loose from your grip. When I did you said something to Ianto. I was not mad about it; he has been on your mind. Your guilt over his death is still with you, I can see that with my doctor eyes. But it is what happened next…" He paused as if searching for the words to continue.

Jack put his arm around the young man and pulled him close. Somehow he knew he would not like where this was going. Sean's hesitation meant it was another thing that had to do with his power. Jack realized that Sean was growing. Jack pushed the black thoughts of an unseen future away and waited for Sean to gather his words.

"It was Ianto; he was in the bed with us. I sat on the edge and waited for a moment and he moved out from next to you, off the bed and went through me. Jack, I think the night you had that fight he snuck in the house and crawled into bed with you. So he wasn't as mad as he wanted you to think. Maybe he was just trying to say he was sorry and then changed his mind. You never mentioned how the rest of the argument went. You more than likely reached a compromise. After all, you were still together when he died." He regretted the last words. Jack moved away, he stood and walked towards the house.

"You saw him?" He stood facing the door, not turning to look at Sean.

Sean's heart sank, this was the doctor in him talking, he wanted Jack to realize what he saw, that it was important for Jack to come to terms with these feelings, not push them away, no matter how painful. But somehow it wasn't working that way. Sean was feeling alone and jealous, he held his breath for a moment to move past his emotions and concentrate on Jack's.

Jack didn't wait for the answer, he continued. "So what happened in the clearing, you saw that as well? Sean what was it that you saw that I didn't? He did something, said something that I just didn't listen to, that I was too mad to realize at the time. Is that it?" Jack was barely a whisper; he hung his head down, not turning to face Sean's words. He didn't want to face his Angel, not when he was thinking of his lost lover. Not when his pain hit home and he felt like Ianto died in his arms the same all over again with his "I love you" echoing in his head, the image, his failure still real after all this time.

Sean wanted to run, the doctor wouldn't move, he was there to help the Immortal that came looking for it. Sean Knowlens the man was breaking. He shook slightly and with a small tremor in his voice, he told Jack what he saw and how he tried to get Ianto to listen. "I failed, he didn't hear me."

It was Jack that broke the mood with a low chuckle. He turned to look at Sean. His heart stopped when he saw the confusion in his lover's eyes, Sean was hurt, but he trying to move passed it for Jack's sake. This man was more then Jack deserved. He walked back to Sean to say the thought that came to him.

"He did hear you, that was why he came to bed that night. I know him, he had a change of heart, but he was too damn proud to admit it. So he got up before the dawn and went back to the car. That is where I found him. We drove home in silence until he reached for my hand. It was then he said sorry and that he was being a child, I had a right to keep my secrets. We stopped at the side of the road for a bit." There was a twinkle in Jack's eye from the memory.

Sean didn't look at Jack. He looked off to the shed. Not wanting to look in his eyes, feeling like nothing but a comfort to an older man who would rather be with someone else.

Jack reached for Sean. Sean got up to leave, ending the moment as doctor. Jack touched Sean's arm lightly, "Don't Sean, don't run, I needed to remember, so I can move past it. It was not meant to hurt you. I would never dream of hurting you, please don't be like this!"

The words were strong. They raced through Sean's mind as he sought to hide his feelings. He failed to hide the one emotion that should be hidden at this moment. He was falling in love with Jack. He reached for the Immortal to comfort him, but he needed to hold him for his own selfish reasons. He needed Jack.

Jack ran his hand through the hair on the back of Sean's head, touching the soft spot on the back of the neck that he loved about the young man. Sean just leaned into Jack and inhaled his scent. They stayed like that for a very long time, just holding and touching, nothing else.

"Sean, come with me today, to the Connors, I want you to learn more about me. Ralph and Helen have some great stories to tell. I would like to share me with you. Please?" He kissed the top of Sean's head.

"Can I take a shower when I get there?" Sean's wit broke into the darkness of the mood.

Jack could help the smile that crossed his face or the ease in which he pulled the younger man closer, he pressed his lips to Sean's and said with out missing a beat. "I would recommend it." They both laughed, lightening the mood for the rest of the morning. They would need to be in a better place for the events of the rest of the day.

Cardiff: 2014: 25th of August

Alice Harkness

Archivist Torchwood

File of Liam Eckerson:

Topic: marriage to Sean Knowlens:

We have no legal record of such an occurrence. Sean insisted that they were married but his father told a different tale. His father told many tales, it seemed. Captain Harkness was the first to figure out that Sean's father was making his story up. He didn't want Liam involved with his son anymore. Which was strange, from all accounts, Sean never thought Liam did him any harm. Even taking Sean to his bed seemed to be normal with Sean. There were no ill side effects mentally in Sean's sexual development but he was emotionally retarded on many levels. In the years after Liam's death, Sean matured. His father was more than grateful of this. Sean was becoming human again. As far as he was concerned it was better for Sean that Liam was out of his life.

The question still troubled us as to why Peter would want Sean to suffer. Liam was his lover and his partner in Sean's eyes. That alone and the idea that Sean was responsible for his death was something a father would not want his son to experience. We would discover the complexity that was Peter Knowlens as we spent time with him.

_His mother ignored the cries coming form her newly born son, Peter was there for Sean. He picked the child up and cradled him in his arms. Singing softly to the boy, he fell in love with his son. Sean's sharp eyes searched his father's singing face and he calmed. He was smiling slightly in a baby like way at the man he would later call Da. Peter was full of pride at what he had created. Even if his wife didn't think so, calling the child a figure destroyer, his son would grow up to be something special; he vowed this in hushed whispers to the boy as he fell in to sleep at last. Peter found purpose. Raising Sean into a man of potential, his beautiful son, his most precious boy, the man he could never be himself._

_His hopes were dashed when they told him Sean was dying; he failed to give that child the better life. He sat with the sick boy and tried to be strong. It was Sean's beautiful face that never failed him. Sean's little hand that reached for his and his weak voice that told his Da not to cry. That he loved him and always would. Even weakened physically, Sean was stronger than anyone Peter could name. He would wipe his tears away and read a story to his son. Sean would watch and smile, the light of the child staying bright for a little while longer._

Peter's head snapped up from the dream. He was sitting in at the conference table in the Torchwood headquarters and he must have dosed off. He looked up at the old fashion timepiece on the wall across from him. He jumped when he saw the time. In less than ten minutes Jack would contact the Hub if all were okay. Peter was still trying to find his son's location. He would need to give it to Paul if Sean was to stay alive. In his heart he knew he was the only one who could save his son. He was hoping Sean would slip today and give him that one thing that he could use to bring Sean back to the people who made him. Giving him another chance at life.

He was nervous. They gave him a small amount of time to find Sean; he knew his wife's involvement would only make it worse for Sean. That was why behind her back he made the plea to spare his son. He would give his own life if he failed. At first he thought Jack could help Sean. Now he realized that like Liam, Jack was using him for his own pleasures, and Sean being so innocent, fell for Jack's charms. He must save his son again, like he did with Liam's death.

He went to the central room and got a cup of coffee. Going over to Alice with a smile, she acknowledged him and offered him the chair next to her station. He liked Alice, she would above all of them understand his betrayal, she lost a son and that had been Jack's fault. Peter decided he would not take such chances with Sean's welfare.

Right now it was Paul's words that echoed in his ears. "I know this Jack Harkness, Peter. He wants only one thing from Sean, and he will use him and then break his heart. You were foolish for trusting him at the beginning. Now that you are in with Torchwood, find Sean and bring him back to the ones that can save him. Jack is a man with the worst track record when it comes to people's lives. If you don't believe me then go ask Alice about her son. Do you want that for Sean, to be killed because Jack needs him to save the world?"

Peter didn't want that, so he indirectly gained Alice's trust. Now he would be able to use her console to trace the signal finding Sean's whereabouts. Paul gave him the transmitter. Now he placed it under the desk while Alice got up to get another cup of coffee. She returned with one for him and smiled as she handed him the cup.

"I bet you can't wait to talk to Sean, can you? I remember when I would wait for Steven to come home from school; it was just nice to have him around." There was a slight strain in her smile.

"No I can't, he means so much to me. But as long as he is safe, that is all that matters." He sipped his coffee and waited for Sean call.

End Chapter 24 TBC


	25. Chapter 25

Pulling up to the farm from the long dirt road, the Cooper came to a halt.

"And our hero leaves a blinding dusty cover as he arrives at his destination." Sean coughed as the dirt settled.

"Wise guy!" Jack said playfully to Sean.

Sean exited the car as he fiddled with a bottle of wine. It was a gift from Phil. Jack had found it along with ten other bottles in the back of the Cooper. Sean just smiled when Jack asked about them. They left the other nine and decide to take one with them for lunch with the Connors'.

"Now they are giving you gifts. What else happened in my absence Sean?" Jack raised a jealous eyebrow.

"I never kiss and tell, Captain." He giggled as Jack slammed the car door. "Careful you might break the car!"

"You are so going to get it; I said you are nothing but trouble." He rounded the car and put his arms around Sean's thin waist and pulled him into a deep kiss. He was finding it hard to not fall for him. He was beginning to believe that the universe was giving him a break from sorrow for a change.

"I'm glad you let me clear the field as a test, this way we will know if I'm being detected or not. Better now than when we talk to the Hub. Are you sure we can bounce the signal enough Jack? I'm not ready to move on. I was thinking, when we are finished with running and they leave me alone, maybe we could stay in the cottage. It really is starting to feel like home." He smiled into Jack's chest.

Jack silently wished that Sean was seeing the future and that yes, they could live in the little cottage in peace for however long they were allowed. "Anything you want, Angel. I don't think the owner would mind!" He kissed his lover.

A clearing of a throat signaled the arrival of the Connors. "Well Helen, it is nice to see some things haven't changed, like Jack wrapped around a good looking man. Nice to see you again Sean, but I didn't recognize you with the Captain covering you up. Welcome to our house again."

Sean stepped away, a little embarrassed at getting caught and extended his hand to Ralph. "The pleasure is mine, Ralph. And Helen, thank you for having us." He went for Helen's hand.

"Now Sean, what did I say to you the last time you were here? I only hug handsome men." She winked at Jack.

"Well, if you insist." Laughing Sean warmly hugged Helen.

When they finally chatted their way to the kitchen, Jack with Ralph; Helen arm and arm with Sean, he asked Helen about the shower. He was trying not to be rude, but he was just in need of warm water. After clearing the pasture and getting it ready for planting, his body ached. The strange thing was that was a true physical ache. But he felt like he did the work by hand. In reality he didn't lift a finger.

_Of course mother hen Jack was watching him like he was going to fall over. He was right for the concern. Sean did collapsed after he changed the pasture._

_The magic of the young man confounded Jack. Sean's raw power could be felt this time. It was very strong to a time sensitive type. Being in the Agency and working around the Rift for over a hundred years tended to make the body tingled when strong time activity was present. Years ago when the Rift would open, Jack would feel the sensation for other reasons; it was his time to be with Ianto. Now he stood and watched yet another love that was affected by the Rift. Though Ianto's life was in constant danger from the Rift, Sean was in danger since his life existed because of the Rift. Sean was the Rift, or a controlled part of the Rift. He was the power that could affect time._

_Jack thanked Liam secretly for at least trying to keep Sean pure. At least he hoped that Liam was the kind of man that saw the good in Sean and made sure he preserved it. Sean was good. That was why Jack was falling in love with Sean; he was the opposite of himself in so many ways. He was also able to get Jack to a place that no one else did. One where he faced and understood his own motives; his own reasons and actions. _

_Right now, he stood and watched the almost unperceivable energy dance around his lover. Sean controlled the force of time with grace and a natural ability. The stream of time that flowed from his body was second nature. The area was sped up to decay; the plant life wilted and drooped to the ground. With another passage of time, so to speak, the dead plant life dissolved into the ground as the slightest trace odor of rotting vegetation hit the air. It was only for a moment. But Jack recognized it; decay and death was another thing that he could feel. And he was very aware of the smell. _

_Sean swayed for a moment, exhausted. Jack stepped forward a little, and then he saw Sean recover and try something else. _

"_Here's the part I don't know about Jack, if it works, all we have to do is plant the seeds." His smile was stressed and he looked exhausted. _

_Jack smiled back and said. "You're amazing! You really have so much control over it Sean; it is like whatever opened the door for you to remember your power brought it all back at once. I don't think we have to worry about confining you. You are completely in control." He marveled at the time stream he witnessed, the earth aged before his eyes, what was once just soil became rich soil, dark and beautiful. Jack estimate Sean aged the area years to get that type of growing medium. _

_Sean collapsed to the ground. The amount of energy need was too much. He was a little worried, what seemed to be nothing to take the life of the plants, took a lot out of him just to get the soil to the level it could carry through to produce life. _

_Jack was by his side as he began to move. "Don't! Just let me help you." Sean was flushed and sweating. His head was cold, clammy stickiness indicating a fever had started. Jack was aware of this pattern. He saw it after he rescued Ianto Owen. This made him question what really happened with that. Did Sean hold something back when he told them the story? _

"_Just sit and let me rest my head in your lap, I will be fine." The weak smile pulled at Jack's heart. _

_He eased the young man's head gently on to his lap and ran his fingers through Sean's soft mane. It had gotten thicker; also Sean was looking a little younger than normal. Which was odd, he should be looking strained and pale. But as soon as he connected to Jack it all began to fade away. "Your fever is almost gone. I'm the one, the one who helped you remember, I'm the one who is taking your pain away. Sean is it me?"_

_He was smiling as his eyes looked sideways at the field. He knew the answer, like so many answers that just showed themselves without presenting much thought. He was aware of his connection to all things in time. Also the place that was his in the Rift, his absentee father, and the one that gave him his new life. He was finally seeing it all and he still didn't know how to answer just that there was an answer. Words just didn't fit. "You are part of time, as I am. Yes Jack, to both questions. I need you, in more ways than I even know. I'm responding to you, because of your connection with time. I think that is how it is. I'm really sleepy now." Closing his eyes, he drifted off on the lap of an Immortal man who would see time up close and personal. _

_As the breeze blew around them, Jack ran his fingers through Sean's hair; he took to heart all of what Sean said. Sean's peaceful angelic face sparkled with the sunlight that found it. He was healing with the warmth from the sun and Jack's life force. Jack was falling in love, that much he knew. _

Ralph was the one that summoned Jack back to the here and now. "I know that look Harkness, seen it a few times with you, once even with me for a brief instant. When was that? It was 1963 when you spent some time here before I married Helen." He chuckled at Jack's perturbed face.

The classic squint of the eyes as he shook his head with denial said it all. "Ralph, it was brief, and yes I am feeling things for Sean. Let's drop the joke and get to business. Is everything ready?"

"Yes it is. My, you are a bit prickly. Wait! Is this the real deal, not just a flirtation, or a whim? Damn Jack, you are head over heels." He stopped the Immortal before they entered the house. Jack waited for Sean's voice to signify he was heading upstairs to the shower before he told Ralph.

"My worst fear is yes, I am in love with him. The second fear is this blasted universe that has it in for me, will take him away. I just want a life, one normal life, ten years, 20, maybe a hundred, of normal. He is not normal, what the bastards did to him as a sweet child I can only imagine. But I want to give him normal. Maybe that is just all we have right now. Ralph, I'm scared, very scared. When Ianto died, I lost it. Sean comes in via Ianto's request to me that if I ever needed to talk to someone that Sean was that person. Sean's abilities are truly amazing; I get numb when I think of his potential. I know in the end I will lose him." Jack was breathing heavy, his eyes sparkling with fear. His heart was pounding in his ears as he looked at his friend for help.

"Sorry it wasn't fair of me to tease, but since you brought me here after the Rift belched me out from the future Jack, I've thought of us as friends. I stepped over the line. I loved you because you got me away from Torchwood, and you found my Helen for me. I was lost without her. What you and I had was beautiful but it was meant to be brief. She was more than happy when we were all together. But we knew that it was just a thing, and our friendship was the real reason we love you. After all, who gave you all that Intel behind Torchwood's back? I'm glad in the end you took over and set it straight."

Hugging his friend tightly, Jack knew how lucky he still was in his dealings with planet Earth. He was glad that Ralph and Helen were in his life. "I love the both of you; I would be blind not to know that of my friends. That is why I can trust you with this. If the worst happens, I know Helen and you are under the radar and won't attract attention, you could get Sean out of here while I run interference. Would you do this for me? Save him, just let him be happy." Jack scanned his friend for the answer.

Ralph laughed. "Oh my, he has gotten under your wire! If he means that much to you, then yes, we owe you that. Jack I don't think he will leave you though." He paused to study his friend's painful expression. "Well, let's hope it never comes to that. Come on; let me show you the new Mini Hub! I really can't believe I was able to put it together so fast. Granted, it isn't anything like the original, but it works." Ralph slapped Jack's back and held the door to the basement open for his friend.

"That is why I asked you Ralph, you are the best when it comes to alien tech. I should have hired you way back when. That was my stupid mistake. But I always enjoyed a double life. You always fulfilled my fantasies in more ways than one!" He ducked the playful swing that Ralph attempted and bolted down the basement stairs.

Hot water splashed Sean's body as he sighed at the wonderful feeling. There was nothing quite like a hot shower to wash all the cares away. The stream was nice, but cold, and by the time you got the tub full from the stove it was cold or warm at best. Somehow that didn't seem to matter when you had Jack in the tub with you; he was his own source of heat.

Bad move thinking of Jack, he was trying to relax and that was not going to happen. He was whistling the bluebird's song. He was wondering if he should name the bird. One name came to mind. What would Jack think if he named the bird Ianto? Would he be angry or would it make him smile? "All I want to do is make you smile." He said out loud. Running his hands up and down his soft skin he moaned softly at the sensation.

"Is that a private moan or do you want some company with that?" Jack slipped in behind Sean and wrapped his arms around the soaped up waist. "You shouldn't talk to yourself out loud, others will hear." He nestled kisses on to the soft flesh of Sean's neck.

Sean responded with a tilt of the head and another series of moans. He was getting hotter as Jack continued with the kisses. "Someone is trying to say hi in the most inappropriate way. What do you feed him, Jack?" Sean pushed subconsciously into Jack's groin. "But this isn't the right time."

"I know." Jack voice went up a notch.

The cuteness of his muffled voice allowed to Sean to forget he was with an Immortal man that was over 2000 years old. Jack seemed to be vulnerable at the moment almost with innocence. It made Sean realize that above all, Jack was still very much human.

With care Jack twirled Sean around and grabbed his mouth. Water mingled with passion as the kiss intensified, bodies touching in the right places as they leaned into each other. It was Sean that broke the spell. With sleepy eyes he stared at the Captain.

"Jack, I'm so tired all of a sudden. Helen asked if I would like to lie down for a bit. She told me about the little network you had them start." He faltered a little.

Jack finished rinsing his soapy form and turned the water off. He helped his sleepy and wet lover out of the shower. Wrapping him in a towel and rubbing down Sean's hair, Jack felt a flush of warmth run through his body. Strange, he thought that it was not a sexual stir but emotional. He was beginning to remember it was how love felt like.

He closed his eyes and looked down for a moment before he reached for another towel for himself.

Sean through blurry tired eyes stared at this man he was proud to call lover, friend, and the man he wanted to spend his life with. Jack's confidence was just a little off at the moment. Sean's trained sight for body language, as tired as it was, knew Jack was holding back.

"What did he do?" Sean knew that something his Da must have done was the source of Jack's hesitation.

Jack blinked at his lover. "What gave it away?" He was not sure why he felt insecure about letting his guard down to this man. Maybe it was his failing in something he should be able to control that disrupted his sense of balance.

"Nothing that you did, it was him. Liam use to have that same look, it is a natural reaction. I don't remember if I ever asked Liam about what was said, but I know that he was normally upset if my Da would try something or suggest something. Let me see if I can guess. He tried something in the Hub and you are a little unsure about what to do next. I thought so, he is being paranoid again, reminds me of the stuff he use to put Liam through."

He reflected on that a bit and saw the pain in Jack's face. "Oh, don't look hurt Jack. Helen told me some things about you. She didn't give it all a way. I told her that I wanted the stories from your own mouth. They are sweeter that way." He reached in to kiss the confused Immortal that suddenly looked very lost.

"He planted a tracking device. We bounced the signal to a small town in Iowa; I forget its name off hand. They won't find us, I swear. Alice told me that Mickey found it on Peter before he planted it. It was their group decision not to let on that he had it. I had nothing to do with it. Sean he wants to talk to you. I have Ralph pulling some information for us. Hey, don't look at me like that! He is masked so they can't see his face. He always had a thing for them. Especially Mexican wrestlers masks!" Grinning, he leaned in to kiss the lips of his Angel before continuing.

"Wait Jack, what are you going to do with him, or what are they going to do I should say?"

"We are waiting for his next move. He just wants to talk to you. Oh, and nothing you did has been detected. We are in the clear. Ralph was monitoring you this morning. He built a "Sean" detector from some specs I gave him from when we were here the last time. Stuff I was able to get from Torchwood while you slept one night. I know I should have said something. From now on, I will tell you everything you want to know and what's going on if I find I am able. I can't protect you from information but if I should need to keep something from you things may change a bit. I'm a firm believer in the lack of information can kill. Sean, there is something you need to tell me and I want the truth. We need to start putting a profile together. This is why you never hire a PC and turn her into an agent. It was so much easier before Gwen, we didn't get this anal about things." He paused as he noticed Sean swaying slightly.

"Jack, I need to lie down." Sean slumped forward.

"Okay, lets get you in bed, which room did Helen point you to?" Sean nodded to the room at the end of the hall.

He tucked Sean into the bed, feeling the heat radiating off of his head and the sweat coming off brow. Jack was concerned.

"Sean, I'll be right back, I'm going to get Helen. After all she is a doctor as well."

"Wait Jack, I wanted to tell you, the truth. Ianto Owen; the bus hit him and it killed him. I rolled back time around the accident that is why it took so much out of me. I just didn't want you to worry. It will happen, Life, regenerating it, saving it, growing it, that takes a lot out of me, the pasture. I made it so it will grow anything. Overly ambitious just a little, right?" He groaned as the fever went higher, "Jack, truth be told, I think I'm dying, or I'm on borrowed time. I can't talk to my Da now. Just tell him I'm sleeping. It will be the truth, after all."

He closed his eyes as the fever took hold. Jack rubbed his head gently while caressing the flushed cheeks of his Angel. He held back a sob as the vision of Ianto's dying face flashed in his mind. He turned to find Helen. Under his breath, said, "Not as long as I live, you are not going to die. Not like this. We'll figure it out."

End Part 25 TBC


	26. Chapter 26

In the recesses of Sean's fevered brain a voice said something. It was not a known voice that would send comfort, but a small voice, unknown, yet a familiar pair of blue eyes in a young face appeared.

"Help them, please just help them!" And then the whole thing vanished.

He awoke to hear Jack talking to Helen. Try as he might, he could not figure out what was being said. But he could tell by Jack's worried face that concentrated and hung on every word that Helen said that it wasn't good. It was like how his father looked when the doctor told him that his son was dying.

"I'm sorry, Jack." He kind of managed to speak. But it was more like a murmur then actual words.

Jack's head turned sideways at the noise. Helen was at Sean's side as he tried to sit up.

"Sean don't, just stay where you are, you're very sick." She tried to coax him back to the pillow but he wasn't listening to her.

"I have work to do. I just can't lie here, Helen, I have to go."

Jack just stood there frozen in place. It was happening again. Before the pain could consume Jack, he decided it was time to face it. If it was going to happen, like Helen said, then he could only make Sean feel as loved as possible.

And as if he were aware of what they were both feeling, Sean rebelled. "I'm not dying! No, I won't let you tell me that!" He pushed himself up in a defiant move, showing them that he was not that ill.

Jack was there next to him, helping him. He didn't speak a word. What could he say?

It was Helen who broke the silence. "Sean, we almost lost you for a moment, your body just gave up. I'm not sure if I can figure it out. But it has something to do with your immune system. It isn't there all the time. I believe the drugs you were on, and Dr. Jones has confirmed it were to create a false immune system. Now that you are off the drugs, your body is compromised and prone to infection. We are trying to get you some kind of substitute in the meantime. But if this continues, we are going to have to take you back to Cardiff. At least maybe if we can take you to Paul, he will help."

He shook with laughter, the sound loud and with a hint of insanity to it. "You might as well just put a bullet in my head now. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard." He pushed Jack away as the Immortal tried to calm him. "I'm dead either way at this point. Let me die the way I want. Here away from them, finishing the garden and allowing me to give something back. I have taken so much."

Looking at Sean, Jack had a mental image of a building collapsing, tiny voices crying at once before they are silenced. Only smoke and debris remain as the rest of the building falls in on itself with the weight.

Jack closes his eyes unable to look at his lover for a moment. He knew that all of this had a purpose somewhere. But this was not how he wanted it to be. He wanted to hold his frightened lover in his arms. Make love to him in the fields and listen to that horrid bird sing out the bedroom window as they touched and caressed each other with kisses. So simple a thought and yet far so out of reach at this moment.

"Okay Sean, if that is what you want, we will stay. But you have to promise that until we can build your immune system back up, you have to put thoughts of the garden out of your head. If you want to kill yourself, do it but not in that field and not around me!"

Sean realized his outburst didn't take Jack into consideration. Was that hurt in his voice, on his beautiful Immortal face because he loved Sean? "I'm sorry. I didn't think I was hurting you. Please forgive me." He sank into the pillow.

Jack smiled at the Angel with his self-clipped wings. "You have every right to be mad. I would be too, if I was cheated like this. Sean, it is just that if you refrain from using your ability, there is a good chance that you will have a long life. The amount of energy you use, which Martha determined and Ralph and Helen have backed up, is the equivalent of a small sun. That is for large things you generate. What you did to the soil was very harmful to your body. You burned a lot of your life force to change it. Can you understand?" Jack looked the young man in the eye.

"I know what I do, Jack. I kind of know how I do it. But it is still rather sketchy. Jack, I need a moment with you alone. Helen, is that okay?"

"I'll go see how Ralph is faring." She smoothed the hair out of Sean's eyes and smiled. He seemed so much younger than he was; it pulled at her maternal heartstrings.

Jack sat down on the bed and reached for Sean's hand. It seemed small, for some reason. Sean seemed afraid.

"I'm falling in love with you, Sean. What more can I say? Please, don't do this anymore. I want you alive."

"I love you too, but Jack, you have to let me finish this." Sean grew flushed as he struggled to get up.

"And lose you? No way!" He kissed Sean full on his lips, feeling fear and dread. Jack was telling Sean he couldn't bear to be alone again.

Sean understood. He found Jack looking at him again and with a very soft "I'm sorry," powered up and fazed through time, leaving a very confused Immortal staring at thin air.

*

A scan of the country yielded nothing. Jack began to panic. What if Sean was not even in this time any more? At Ralph's suggestion, he phoned Rodger and asked if some of his trusted friends, who of course were the whole camp, could find Sean. Ralph explained that his name was really Sean and he was a priority one and they should be careful when approaching him. Like everyone else in the camp he was on the run from the government. It was Jack that suggested that Paula, Rita and Phil should look for him, since he liked and trusted them. If he was still in the countryside it was best that he didn't freak out and phase again. People he knew might stop him from running.

Jack and Ralph headed towards the camp. It was decided that the others would check the area by the cottage, they were closer and Helen stayed at the farm in case Sean returned there.

"Jack, it will be okay, we haven't lost him yet. Please, don't worry until we have to. You love him that much; I don't think I've ever seen you like this." Ralph said as he laid a reassuring hand on Jack's knee.

Without missing a beat Jack smiled and said. "And here I thought you only had eyes for Helen." It was a front; both men knew this and laughed anyway. The strain was heard in Jack as he tried not to think of life in this little world without Sean. "Please be okay." He said out loud. Ralph just kept driving, trying not to show weakness for his friend's sake.

*

The bluebird landed on his shoulder. "Hello, Ianto! How are you?" He laughed a little at the chirp he got. "I'm fine, well not really. But I have to do this, my friend. Oh, and the rest of you can come out as well." He found standing a little difficult. Shaking, he found his footing. A brief light showed itself through the air revealing Ianto and Liam. Ianto the bird went to watch from a branch above in a nearby tree.

"Wow, where the hell are we? Sean?" Liam ran to his lover but was stopped by some barrier. "What the hell? Oh that's right, I'm still dead. I can't come through all the way. Sean what are you doing if I may ask, and why did you bring us here?"

"Using the gifts you gave me, Liam. Are you lonely being dead?"

"Oh snap! You are still a spitfire! Yes, I miss you. It is very lonely." He gazed at Sean, who walked a little closer. He was still beautiful but he was looking very stressed.

"I'm dying Liam, well, kind of, so I'm going to finish what I started and I brought you here to watch. I miss you so much."

"But I'm sure Jack is a cure all for that loneliness. I saw how you two are. I know what he feels." Ianto squinted his eyes and pouted at Sean. "Does he talk about me?"

Sean lit up with a smile. He studied the Welshman for a moment before answering. "Yes, all the time. He loves you Ianto."

"I wish that I could hear him say it. I maybe dead, but it is nice to be loved." Huffing, he folded his arms over his chest.

Sean giggled at the reaction. The thought came to him it might be possible to grant Ianto a wish.

"You met someone, Sean? I mean you've been with someone else?" Liam looked green with envy. He was very put out by this news. "Well, since I'm dead I guess you can do what you want."

"Liam," Sean began as he got the seeds together that he took from the garden. "Why did you lie about us being married? You could have told me the truth. I would have understood. And what the fuck is up with Paul?" He began the processes. Raw time energy gathered around him like a moth to a flame, the air simmered with particles. The colors created patterns forming all around the field as he gathered the strength he needed.

"What is he doing?" Ianto asked.

"What I created him to do. Watch, we should be able to catch it because we are dead and time doesn't apply to us any more." Liam grinned and clapped his hands like a kid at Christmas.

With great speed collecting the time streams and the acceleration of his movements, Sean planted the whole field with neat rows and stages sections according to light needed and type of soil for growing. He fine-tuned the rest as he went along.

"Wow, he has grown! Thank god the mind wipe didn't hold. Watch, he is going to accelerate the plants so they can produce soon. Sean, remember to back it down a week for the produce to come to maturity. Honey, you don't want to sour the fruit or the vegetables at all. You always go too fast and over extend yourself." He smiled but suddenly realized that Sean was losing strength. "Sean, what's wrong?" Liam began to panic.

"What, is he okay? He doesn't look it." Ianto became aware of the problem. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going? You're dead." Liam was looking at the Welshman with raised eyebrows.

"I know, but I need to do a little research. I'll be right back." Ianto disappeared.

"Sean, honey, one of us ghosts just disappeared. Is that a problem?"

Sean just painfully smiled as he placed a time loop around the plants so once the produce matured the process from flowering to fruit would repeat. The patterns in the time stream took hold. The power subsided and Sean collapsed. The field was a live again with flora.

Ianto returned with a grin on his face. It was then that Elaine appeared. Ianto began to blink.

"Hello, you are Elaine, right?"

She looked past Ianto and focused at Sean. "I think that Sean is unwell. Liam, what has happened?'

Liam was kneeling at Sean's side feeling very helpless. "Oh god, Sean. Why did you go off your meds? I should have told you not to ever do that. I should have said a lot of things like I love you and we couldn't really marry. Because you don't exist anymore, they own you. But they said that as long as they could use you every now and then, we could have a life together. But it was wiping your memories then restoring them for a job or two that started to affect you and us. Paul and I, well he fed on that and we started to sleep together again. You found out. But you didn't kill me. Paul did. But I think you may have figured that out. I'm so sorry for hurting you. Oh please Sean, don't give into them. Breathe baby, just breathe."

Dead men can cry. They can feel as well. Shedding tears, Liam became aware of how helpless he was at that moment.

"Liam, I'm sure Jack will be here soon."

"I vanished before his eyes, Ianto. He won't be able to find me for a bit." Sean said weakly, sitting there as he stared at Liam. "I still love you, and I don't regret any of our life together."

"But I can't have you dying, you're aging yourself to death!"

"Is dying such a bad thing? You all seem pretty content." He spat that at all of them.

"Sean, when Jack and I were married, it was just a matter of time before I would lose him. He was not that stable. But judging by the way this one acted that night they fought," She pointed at Ianto. "He has changed a bit. I never would think he cared enough to even try to win you back." She smiled at Ianto. "Sean, he seems so taken with you, that if you were to give up now, I think that he would give up again as well. I saw how he was with you here. When I died, he gave up. I just wanted what was best; I just wasn't strong enough to let him give it to me what he could rather than demanding a lot." She looked beyond the young man before her.

Her gaze went to her tombstone. Liam was looking that way also.

"You sense it as well, the portal is closing. We may get stuck here." Liam stated.

"Well, stop him. I don't want to walk here forever." She looked back at the grave in horror.

"What, that we would be stuck here?" Ianto was amused. "Could I rattle chains and scare people away? I could haunt bad coffee establishments in Cardiff or nag the badly dressed until they change their ways in a Dickens-like dream." He was amused by the ideas he had.

"Oh, you are the funny one. I remember that wit from our sessions." Sean laughed.

"Wait, he was you patient and now you're with his lover?" Liam was jumping around. "Sean, do you realize you're like a gravitational pull, bringing all these things together? Amazing, my love. I can't believe this." Liam looked like he was calculating all of it in his head.

"Ianto, Jack should have settled here with you," Elaine said. "This place should have made you happy, instead it brought you pain. Sean, kick Jack in his man parts for me when you see him, then live for me and settle together in the cottage. I think it was more meant for you than me. Sean, the portal is closing." She stared at the youth. He was perfect for Jack and they did suit each other.

She was drawn again to the area by the grave. It was the bright light that wove a scene. She smiled as she remembered, her red hair blowing in the wind and her slim face; pale was a glow with joy. "Oh that was from when we were first married." She watched an image of Jack and herself run through the tall grass in the glen giggling, he was in his birthday suit and she was in a off white dress. "He never could keep his clothes on."

"Don't I know it!" Echoed Ianto and Sean as they looked at each other.

The laughter turned to sounds of pleasure as Jack grabbed Elaine and pulled her down, concealing themselves in the tall grass.

"Oh my!" She blushed.

"Go join the scene Elaine; it's yours to hold onto forever." He weakly smiled.

"I don't know what to say, but thank you!" She held her skirt up and danced down the field.

"Your turn, Liam. It was my mother, right? She set the whole thing up, to get back in with the social elite, right?"

"I never wanted to hurt you Sean, but I was controlled by them, and by her. She used you and your father fell for it. Paul is the real master behind it all. He isn't even human anymore."

"Then we have something in common. But that information is helpful. Thank you for it. But what is he?"

"I don't know. I don't think we will ever know." Liam looked at the light as it started to fade. "Sean, I have to go. But I love you, if Jack makes you happy, fight to stay alive. Be this, like I showed how to be; strong at the beginning, use what I taught you and stay alive here and now." He took a final look at his partner's features before he went through.

"Liam, there is a surprise for you when you get there, maybe we will see each other some day. I love you always. I won't forget you." Sean blew a kiss at Liam as he headed for the portal. It shut as soon as he was through.

Ianto was still there. Sean was aware that this was not good.

"So what is it I can do for you now that I sent all the others to happy fun land, Ianto?"

Sean looked amused at the image of Ianto. The Welshman pouted at doctor. "You think this is funny. I'm only here because you keep opening these portals. They are killing you. But you don't care. You don't care that Jack will cry again over someone he has lost because he can't fix everything. You can by being careful. I wasn't going to say anything, but I did some research while I've been hanging around."

"Wait, your dead, you're from another time, how the hell are you doing research? I'm mad, it's the fever, it's making me delusional and I'm hallucinating. You are a figment of my imagination." Sean began to laugh uncontrollably when Ianto's eyes bulged out of his head at Sean.

"Yes, you are insane, but you opened up the damn portal. So here I am, your worst nightmare, and I do research from beyond." He waved his hands like a creepy magician towards Sean.

"Okay I give, what is this information you trying to give me oh wise and well tailored Ianto?"

It was Ianto's turn to laugh. "Oh, you are good, bet you give Jack a run for his money." There was a lilt of sadness in the Welshman's voice at the mention of his Captain. He quickly recovered and continued. "In the refugee camp is a wise old sage woman. She has earthen herb magic that will heal your pains." He rubbed his hands together. "No, really she was a chemist for a pharmaceutical company. She was finding better natural cures for illnesses than the chemical crap they were selling. They stripped her of everything right after the 456 and she wandered down here. Her name is Dr. Ellen Witken, aka Sun Cat. I think she can help you. Wait, I know she can." He smiled at Sean.

"So, I should go to the camp? Ianto, I'm too tired for that. I'm really feeling very weak." The fever was back. Sean slumped to the ground, exhausted.

Ianto raced to his side but the hand he used to steady Sean went right through him. "It would be easier if you made me solid, Sean. Okay, don't pass out, this isn't good." Ianto was in a state of panic running around trying to think what he could do.

Sean's eyes closed. "Thanks Ianto, you tried to help, so what can I give you?"

"If you live, I want a moment with Jack, a solid moment, let me touch him. Sean, I know you can do this. I know it. But it will cost you. But Dr. Witken, she will be able to help you feel better each time you use your power. Trust me, I know it. Jack will remember her. Wait Sean, don't shut your eyes!"

"You can have more then a moment; I can give your 6 hours. I think that will do. Any more will kill me."

Sean fell forward face first into the dirt. A car headed up into the field. It was Paula and Phil.

Waving his arms back and forth Ianto signaled to them where Sean was. Paula screamed to Phil, "There he is." They ran towards the unconscious form of their friend.

"Good you see me; I was worried that I would be invisible to… Hey you don't have to be rude and walk right through me. Oh you can't see me. Fat lot that does than! How did you see him?" Ianto gave up. The couple didn't hear him. He smiled seeing Sean was okay and spoke before the portal closed. "Remember the promise." He faded away.

"He is still breathing. Good, Paula look at this place. What do you think Sean is?"

"Our friend, and I'm glad that Jack told us the truth, but I wish that Sean had been honest from the beginning. We would have protected him." She wiped the sweat away from the wrinkled brow as Sean began to smile.

"I feel no pain right now!" He spoke in his delirium. He was smiling with a bliss that looked like he was talking to God. "Of course I will do that for you. Thank you! Paula is that you?"

"It's okay, baby, we're going to take you to the camp, Jack is going to met us there.

It's okay, Sean, we know the truth, and lets get you to the car. Phil, a quick hand here?"

"Sorry, I just can't get over this field; there is all kinds of vegetable and fruits growing. He is amazing Paula. Really, bleeding amazing." He carried Sean to the car with ease.

"Hey Paula, you didn't happen to see someone with him did you, like jumping up and down?"

Laying Sean down in the back seat, they seat belted him in the best they could. Paula was half way down the road, when she answered. "Yeah, I did. It must have been a trick of the light."

"Nice try, it was cloudy when we got there!" He began to laugh.

"Well, I just found out that my good friend is not quite human. Now you want me to believe in ghosts? Please Phil, give a girl a chance to process first." She winked at him.

He began to blush. "Sorry, I was trying to make you feel better, get you mind off of things. I know you care for him."

"He reminds me of my brother that died at Canary Warf. I just feel comfortable with him. I can't stand to see him in pain. But he has a lot of people who care about him. Jack loves him, I believe." She stared in the rear view to make sure Sean was okay.

"Yeah that he does. What a sight him running into camp all freaked that Sean was gone. Then just spilling his guts like that. He really must love him, to risk so much. But they are safe, we will see to that, none of us have any love for the type of people that could hurt an innocent boy and use him like they did Sean." He glanced at the restless man and hoped they really could help him.

"Amen Phil, Amen."

End Chapter 26 TBC

.


	27. Chapter 27

Drifting in and out of moments of consciousness, Sean was floating around the fever and the voices of those nearby. One was Jack as he ran into the tent demanding about Sean's conduction. The other was an unknown woman telling the overreacting Immortal to shut the fuck up and let her do her work. The order to get out now was not taken kindly. Jack was cursing, as he believed it was Ralph that told him it was time to leave. Sean was in fantastic hands. A grunt came out of Jack as he retreated to the outer camp.

Sean coughed, signaling to the doctor that he was awake. She smoothed back his sweaty hair with a damp cloth as he slit open his eyes. "How did I get here?" He asked weakly. He coughed himself into a fit and his lungs felt like they were on fire.

The woman eased him to a sitting position and began to rub his back trying to calm the coughing. She knew he had developed infections throughout his whole body. His kidneys weren't doing well and his liver was not functioning properly. His heart was not pumping well causing fluid to remain in his lungs. The young man was moments away from a complete shutdown of his body's systems. He was indeed slipping away.

"Are you Sun Cat?" He asked the angel of mercy that helped him drink some water. He was hooked up to an IV with what he assumed must be helping him. His eyes traced the line from his chest to the clear plastic bag. He reached to touch it.

She followed his movement. "Yes, how did you know that? Do you remember me from the chat we had the last time you were here?" Her bedside manner was better with him than it had been with Jack.

"No, Ianto told me that you were going to help me. You could find a way for me to stay alive. I want to live. I'll do anything. I don't want to leave yet. I have a job to do. I think we could call it a destiny."

He smiled weakly pulling at her heartstrings. This young man had the whole camp a buzz. The moment Jack and he showed up, it was like a weight was lifted off the people of this place. She considered it her destiny to help this angel as the Captain called him to find his peace on planet Earth.

She was doing this for humanity as well. With the Captain's help, she may be able to get to help the sick people of The United Kingdom, those who were not responding to conventional treatment, to the camp and cure them with her natural medicines. Like she had told so many of her superiors who had laughed at her, that chemical drugs were not the best course for most of humanity who had some type of allergy to the pharmaceutical drugs as well as tragic side effects. Nature held other, healthier alternatives.

She was laughed out of her position and branded a subversive. The camp gave her a chance to work on her concepts and for that she was grateful. Now with Sean as a challenge, she could put some of her ideas into practice. It was not for her satisfaction, but to cure an amazing human being in her world. She bit her lip with the weight of this responsibility on her back. The 60-year-old doctor smoothed back the lock of longish gray hair that drifted defiantly into her eyes. Indeed, this one was a problem.

"I'm going to give you a draught I worked out. If all goes well, we should see some type of improvement in a half hour of so. But it might make you feel sick to your stomach. Do you remember the chemotherapy you went through?" Sean weakly nodded his head yes. "Well, it is a little like that. Just tell me when you're going to be sick. I'll help you not make a mess all over yourself." She helped him down the horrid potion and checked his pulse again. Smoothing back his hair again, she gazed at the beautiful face as if the gods dropped a divine being in front of her. She was trying to think why Sean was familiar to her. Lately she was so wrapped up in her work that memories were disappearing to make room for the storage of her cures and work plans. She blinked at him, at that face. There was something about his face.

"Knowlens? Your Peter's son?"

"You know my Da?" He his eyes shone at the mention of his father. Life was still in the sick man, showing a will to survive.

"We grew up together, we used to date. Well, sometimes. I always wanted to be a doctor. But I loved being with your Da. He was an amazing man. When I got out of school, I heard he had gotten married, someone of money. She was married before, right?"

He looked away from her; the medicine was taking effect as his eyes glazed over. "I'm going to be sick." As promised, Sun Cat helped him.

Jack pacing was wearing a path in the dirt outside Sun Cat's tent. He heard Sean cry out once, and was running to the entrance when Ralph grabbed his arm to stop him. "No Jack, let her do her job." Ralph held on tight to his friend. Jack closed his eyes and returned to pacing. He rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. He was feeling very helpless.

"Ralph, I was thinking…" He paused and went to sit down on a log facing the tent flap.

"A dangerous thing that is!" Ralph couldn't help the quip. After all, it did bring a smile to Jack's stressed face. "What were you thinking about, my friend?"

"I'm going back to Cardiff. Sean is safer here. If I can, I'll fix this. I can work better to bring those bastards that did this to him down by myself."

"You mean without having to worry about Sean. Jack, I don't know about that. At least use Torchwood. That would be the best plan. You are going to need help. Someone to watch your back. You may be immortal, but you still can be killed and in those seconds you are helpless. My friend, if I was younger, I would be by your side again." He smiled at Jack. A flash memory of days gone by momentarily appeared on his face. "We made a pretty neat team."

"Yeah, up there with Lucy and Ethel. Just kidding, but we were kind of goofy." Jack warmly chuckled at the thought. "I remember a few times when you did stupid things." Real hard laughter left him this time.

"Hey I didn't know that a Voro spewed chocolate ink like stuff from its…where did that come from exactly? But did you have to roll me around in it afterwards? Granted it was fun Jack, but really, we were brown spotted for months!"

Jack was laughing so hard he fell off the log before Ralph could push him.

Their merriment was interrupted by Sun Cat clearing her throat. They stopped, Jack standing perfectly still to listen to the doctor's words. 'Please let it be good news,' he sent the thought out to the Universe in the hope that something would hear him.

"Jack, it is working. I have reversed the damage and he is getting stronger. He should be able to see you in a little while. He will be very weak but he should be fine in a few days. He will be healthy and able to use his abilities. He will have to take the draught for the rest of his life though. Don't worry. It is easy to make. And he will in time suffer no ill effects from it. I have effectively rebuilt his immune system. He still has to be careful of overloading himself. He still can take things too far, which means we would have to begin again. But for now I am confident that he is going to be stronger than he was."

She just finished her assessment as strong arms from a very handsome immortal man wrapped around her and lift her up into a spin. He put her down and kissing the savior of his Angel.

"I can see why he is in love with you, Captain. If I was younger, he would have to worry a little."

"Age doesn't bother me." He winked, causing the doctor to blush. "I love an older woman, you know what…"

"Jack, please, behave, for once." Ralph's interrupted. He knew where this would end up.

"Sorry, I get distracted easily by beauty and genius. Was that okay to say, Ralph?" He looked sternly at his friend.

Ralph shook with laughter at Jack. He was thankful that out of all the pain his friend went through, he always had that look with a quick laugh and luminous smile.

"You two are a pair. So you can see him in a little while. I suggest you go clean up and eat something. Let me get back to him." She winked at the men as she went to see about her patient.

"So Jack, getting back to our talk here, you love him so much that you going to fix this for him." Jack looked at the ground. "I know you, he is something special to you. But promise me you will at least get someone to help you. Torchwood would do it. That Mrs. Williams, she would walk over fire for you. So at least let them know what it is you are doing. And us here as well, I really would hate having to explain to Sean what might happen."

"I'm not going to tell him." Jack looked into Ralph's eyes. "This way he won't try to go with me. I can't risk him that way. I need you to explain that I had to leave. That I will come back; he must never know what I'm doing."

Ralph hated when Jack got something into his head. He knew from past experiences that you couldn't convince him of anything else. But he would have to lie to Sean for Jack. To see Sean's broken hearted and abandoned face for Jack, Ralph just hoped that the young doctor would be able to focus on recovering and not be lost without the Captain. Sean seemed to be very adaptable in that respect.

"Okay, but if he freaks out I will say something. Hey, off the subject, did you hear that Phil saw someone with Sean when they found him? He said it was a shadow at first, but he swore that it was a youngish man in a well-tailored suit. Do you have any idea who it was?"

"What, you think that Ianto was watching over him? Though Sean did say Ianto was in bed with us." Ralph's eyebrows shot up. "Well he did and he witnessed the fight we had when I tried to bring him up here for that week, remember we were supposed to have dinner with you? Ianto could be such a pain when he got a bee in his hat. But I was being a jerk that night; I should have told him the truth."

"Hey, Jack, don't go there again. You can't change the past, just aim for a better future." He grinned.

"What idiot said that?" The Captain questioned.

"I believe that was you, Captain Idiot." For an old man, Ralph moved incredibly fast. He avoided Jack's swing and ran ahead to the food tent, laughing all the way.

* * *

The relief in Jack's face when a sleepy Sean turned his head towards his direction was a beautiful sight to Sun Cat. She checked Sean one more time and excused herself. She turned to see the Captain gingerly sit down on the bed and reach for her patient's hand.

Sean couldn't look Jack in the eye. The thoughts of Ianto waiting to spend one last moment with Jack hurt.

Jack was picking up on Sean's state. He was pretty sure it wasn't health related. Sun Cat had said he was on his way to recovering and should be able to move around some tomorrow.

Jack wouldn't be here to see that. He was planning on leaving as soon as Sean fell asleep for the night. He took Ralph's advice, and phoned Gwen with his plans. She said Torchwood was ready to help.

It meant seeing Alice up close again. He was excited and a little terrified about that. But he was not half as terrified as if he lost Sean.

Sean still wouldn't look at him.

He went to kiss his Angel. Sean's lips where fever dry and a little salty but he savored the response form the young man and deepened it. Sean moaned a little at the contact, and pushed the action forward.

Both men were hot and bothered by not being allowed to go further than that. Sean was too weak and Jack was willing to wait.

"Sean, Phil and Paula said there was someone with you in the pasture. Was it Ianto again?"

Sean just stared into Jack's deep blue eyes. He wet his lips but didn't speak.

"You're holding back. There is something Sean, what are you avoiding?"

Sean sat up, refusing Jack's helping hand. He pushed the pillow behind him and looked at everything in Sun Cat's tent but Jack. He was trying to formulate what he could say, and what needed to be said. Jack was fighting to keep this relationship honest. He realized this since the day Jack Harkness stepped into his life. It was getting difficult to hold onto this love. If he told him, Sean knew that there was a good chance that he would be on the losing end. To come all this way, to run towards his destiny, to be broken by a ghost, was that just pathetic. And now that he realized he loved Jack, life just didn't suck any worse than now.

His recovering fever ridden body was slow on the uptake, his mind though was clear. Jack needed to have this. Sean never thought once to bring Liam back. Strange how it was Ianto who seemed to pull the strings and who was the one who led Jack to him. Sean just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Ianto planned this. There was no way that gentle soul that loved his Jack would allow harm to another. Especially to harm someone who was doing him a favor and risking the chance that could kill him.

Jack was waiting for his answer. Sean disappearance was nerve wracking enough. To think that he would phase while hurt and never come back was painful. And now Sean was distant. What happened in the pasture?

"I have something to say, but I'm not sure how. Jack, I saw Liam in the field, he came through a portal I opened. He is happy that I found you. We said goodbye. Elaine was there as well. I let her have a happy memory with you to live in. She was allowed a better life with you. Don't ask how I did it. I'm not really sure." He shook a little from using his deplete energy to explain.

"Sean, you were able to talk to them, bring them back from another place. I wish I could understand what you are doing half the time. This is beyond my understanding of any concepts of time. And now with the phasing that will take you from one point to another. I wish I could keep up with you." He smiled his Jack smile and cupped Sean's flushed cheek. Again Sean recoiled a little. "What is it Sean?" Jack was concerned by his lover's reaction.

"Jack, Ianto, he is waiting for you at the cottage." Sean let his brokenhearted tears slip down his cheeks and puddle under his chin.

Jack stared at Sean, he was sure he misheard him. "How, I mean… I don't understand." His face went blank as he searched Sean's sad face for an answer.

"Ianto has been helping me with things, he was able to get the others to find me, and he told me to ask for Sun Cat when I got here. Jack, he said he was able some to do research on me. But I had to give him something. If you go the cottage you can be together for six hours, he will be solid. You can hold him, touch him, and love him however you want."

"Sean, is that possible? I mean, what would happen to you?" Jack was already half off the bed and ready to run to Ianto.

"Just go. I can't stand the look on your face right now. But remember if he stays solid too long then I will die. If that happens, I will know where you heart really belongs and my pain is over. It is okay Jack; I always thought of us as just a temporary thing. That I could never compete with Ianto, but that didn't stop me from loving you. I thank you now for all you've done. If I have helped you…" tears started in the soft sad eyes, "then it was worth it.

"I will always love you." Jack spoke with tears in his eyes.

Sean shrank into his pillow after Jack gave him a gentle hug and one final kiss. He was off the bed and heading for the Cooper in moments.

With the flash of the man out of her tent, Sun Cat went to seek Sean. He was curled up in a ball sobbing on the bed. She cursed Jack for hurting him, and when he sobbed out the story to her, she realized that if Sean lived, she would kick Jack Harkness in the nuts for hurting that boy.

"Sean you are stronger now, but I see that if this Ianto decides to take advantage of your generosity, then I wouldn't want to live either. But you are not alone. You have a whole camp full of people that are here for you." She embraced the young man and watched over him as he gave Ianto and Jack there last moment together.

The car skidded to a halt as Jack reached the cottage. The smell of coffee and a fire in the air, he ran in to the kitchen and shouted. "Honey, I'm home!"

Ianto turned from the fireplace and closed his eyes, allowing Jack's scent to over power the burning wood. He then responded. "In here."

End Chapter 27 TBC


	28. Chapter 28

I am keeping a journal because my friends say it will be good for me to write my feelings down for a change. They are telling a psychiatrist about feelings. Can't help but be a little upset with them, but I know they mean well. I just don't feel the need. Jack's gone, wherever I don't know. But I know he went with Ianto. That much is certain. I fixed it so Liam could be with Ianto should he leave Jack. Liam told me he never showed. But how I'm still alive, I don't know. Sun Cat smiles a lot claiming she is a miracle worker. I think it would have been better to be dead. I just feel abandoned and cheated. Why did this universe say I have to hurt like I do?

Ralph has been here everyday, telling me that Jack will be back soon. Well, that has been what he's been saying for five months running. The last time he was here, I could see he stopped believing his own words. The face he has on now is one of disbelief that he could be so wrong about the Captain's feelings. I guess we will never be able to understand what makes the Immortal tick. I'm done trying; my heart is broken into a million pieces. I will never love again, I promise you that.

Now, if I could only believe that myself. I will always love Jack. As hurt as I am, if he walked back into my life right now, I would take him back. But for now…

I have my own great work. It is enough to keep me going with more then I need.

I'm staying in the village; yeah we call it that now. I call was allowed to name it Hope. I know it seems silly but it works for me. As humans it is all we really have. Hope is what helps us get out of bed in the morning. It allows us to move on, to smile at the end of the day and to believe that someday, it will be better.

Maybe my life will be better, I can only hope!

Hope gave me the meaning of the great work. It was my way of using my gifts to help the whole bloody world. It should be easy; I'm fine-tuned and ready. The village has many people who have helped me with my vision. The technologists that are ramped in camp down to the botanists that were told they were mad in their ideas of conservation. We have an army of elite minds that can work together without a problem. Life can be good.

They see me as some type of spiritual leader. A Healer. I'm really just me still. But they were uplifted by my abilities and it made them want to belong to the world again.

A few weeks ago, I saved a young woman and restored her to her family. I brought her back to life in front of most of the camp. She was very dead; a truck ran her over while she was walking back to the camp after a night in town. She told her friends that she would be home later, that she had met a young man. He passed out and she decided to walk home. The driver of the truck didn't see her. They found her body on the side of the road almost a day later.

The grief shared in her parents' eyes was too much to handle. The villagers were devastated; they have never lost anyone from the camp before.

I brought her back to them; by bringing her body back the way it was before the accident. When her head rose and her parents cried, "Bless you!" to me, the villagers began to worship me. Well that is a little wrong in the wording. I can't think of anything lesser than that they admired me. But I think it was wrong if I didn't stop the god thing from taking root. So I told them that I couldn't fix it all. That this was a one-time deal. They respected that. My health began to fail and Sun Cat cursed me out for having to rebuild her "great work."

Now I'm fine as I sit the pasture with Ianto the bird on my shoulder, waiting and watching the Great Work happen. The scientific nature of the human mind is amazing. The concepts that the others have come up with to build the Emulator, the machine I can channel my power with, is remarkable. I could never have come up with it. And understanding the work of the others is really beyond me. I nod a lot in understanding. I can see what they say and what it is they are talking about, but it still is as foreign as Greek is to me. I will never fully understand. Oh and I use 1/10th of my power through the machine. So I think that I will be here for a very long time.

Sun Cat informed me I had stopped aging. So there is a good chance that if Jack did come back, that I could be with him for a very, very long time. A nice thought.

I'm smiling just thinking about him. He loves me; I can still feel that, like his caress as he touches my soft skin. I'm suddenly floating in a cloud of pleasure; I give the words, "Come home to me, Jack!" to the wind. Please let them be heard!

The weird sensation happened a few days later around noon. I was feeling a little lightheaded after Sun Cat's treatment, but I was needed by Phil for a test. After Sun Cat ripped him apart for thinking I was well enough, he began to walk away with his proverbial tail between his legs. I ran to him and yelled back at the angry Sun Cat that I would just be a small amount of time, and I would rest when I came back. She just sulked and muttered as she went back inside. Phil was yelling after her that he would make sure that nothing happened.

We arrived at the fields and began the test.

Later on, there was a small group of the others; Rita, Paula and Ink (he is a genius with Quantum Mechanics) that were arguing over some fine-tuning when they became quiet when I approached.

I was afraid of the words out of their mouths and "lord" was muttered at me as they bowed a little in my direction.

"Don't start that please, I'm not a God!" Yes I was angry, how could I not be? They were bowing at me! "What is wrong with you?" I asked Paula who was a friend first, not a follower.

"We think you need more respect, Sean. It was wrong of us to not realize just what your vision implied. You are a God. We are just your tools." She was trying not to look at me as she spoke.

"Don't. Please don't start this. I love you all; I'm not a God. I'm sharing what I am with the world, the one that through man's cleverness gave me a second chance at life. Rita, Paula, Ink, please don't do this." I begged and was down on my knees with tears rolling down my face.

"Sean, I'm sorry!" Ink began, his long grey-black hair blowing in the breeze, stern eyes pleading his case. "It was not what we meant! It is just we are heading into a direction that only a God would know, and you are that. I'm a scientist and I see that you are way ahead of all of us with your vision. I didn't mean any disrespect." He lifted me up off my knees and wiped my tears away.

They were starting to fear me. My friends were afraid. Only Phil stood by, not saying anything for a bit. The others refused to look at me.

"I can't believe you. Sean is one of us, he loves us and you hurt him by insulting him. He is no God! What is wrong with all of you?" Phil shook with the force from his impassioned speech.

Rita laughed and so did Paula. Ink just went back to the tent were the machine was. The noise that was making indicated that something was off.

"So Phil, the quiet one speaks with great wisdom. Why have I never seen your strength before, Phil?" She looked at him all-aglow; it was brought to my attention that she was in love with him. It was just as much as he was in love with her.

"Really?" He smiled at her. The rest is not my story to tell, let's just say that after the momentary lapse of judgment on the group's part, two souls joined and all went back to normal. Well except for the next bit.

Ink came back and was looking shocked. He explained a portal opened in the left area of the pasture, where Elaine's grave was. I looked around and there stood Ianto.

My heart stopped and started again.

Ianto the bird took off and flew south towards the road.

"Sean?" Paula put her hand on my shoulder. "If I can help…"

"No I think this is my job alone. Look, I need some time here; can you all go to the house and have lunch?"

They agreed. I walked towards Mr. Jones.

He was not much different than the last time I saw him. He just seemed happier, though still dead. He smiled as I came closer. It was warmer than the last time. I stopped short of the portal.

"Sean, you have been busy!" He gestured to the tent and what it held. As well as the multitudes of plants the expanding green pasture held.

"What, did you think I was just another brainless pretty face?" I smiled at him. It was not meant to hurt, but the comment did make me release some of the dislike I felt for this man.

He frowned at me. I knew I had hurt him and it made me feel bad. There was something in his eyes, regret, maybe sorrow, I couldn't tell.

"I know you're upset, I don't blame you. He has that way of devouring you and then leaving. He did it to me, chasing his way to the end of the universe after the Doctor. He broke my heart. But he loves you, Sean. Jack is coming home to you." There was sadness in Ianto's voice. He wouldn't be the one that Jack was returning to.

"You didn't have to give up Ianto, I would have understood if you stayed alive. After all, not many get a second chance." I tried a smile and failed.

"The universe would never have forgiven me, Sean. It isn't about Jack and me any more; it is about Jack and you. The world needs you. But what we had with those 6 hours, that was more than enough. I owe you for that. So when he asked me to help him, I returned to ghost Ianto and followed my Captain one more time." He looked at me straight in the eyes.

I held his gaze. I knew then without the words being spoken that they had slept together. I knew it would happen that way. Hell if it was I, and I had a chance of one more time with Jack, of course I would.

I closed my eyes and turned away from him. There was a dust cloud coming from the road to the south, the direction Ianto the bird flew.

Ianto spoke. "Sean, thank you! You don't know how nice it was for him to tell me that he loved me. I think that I will be able to move on now. Along with Liam, we won't be bothering you anymore. Jack and you can have your own life together." He paused as he waited for me to say something.

"Why did he leave?" That was the most I could muster.

"He will explain that. He is coming here with Torchwood and your Da." Ianto was not sure what he should say, that much was apparent in the sound of his voice.

I turned away from the cars as they moved closer. He was crying. Ianto was in tears.

"He left to help you. He fixed it for you, Sean. No one is left to hurt you. Just Paul. But his power is almost, well mainly gone." He hesitated as if he meant to say something else. "So there really isn't much he can do to you. Jack will fill you in on the rest. I have said all I can. It is his place to be with you. My time is over. I love you for your great heart Sean. Love him as long as you can, and never let anything go unsaid." He walked towards the portal one last time. Liam was there, waving to him. I was hoping it would go this way, with the two of them together for all time.

"Ianto, I'm glad I helped you, really." Tears were falling over the land, I was making it rain with my remorse, for not seeing that Ianto was never there to hurt me, and he was only there for his Jack.

I had never made it rain before, at least not that I was aware of.

Jack was coming home to me. Home. It was a nice word. I would wait for him and let him tell me his story.

"I wish you the best Sean, you're going to have an interesting life. Just remember, Jack loves you!" Liam dragged Ianto into the portal before it could close half way on him.

The Cooper stopped at the edge of the field and Jack ran out into the rain.

I met him in the middle of his run and allowed him to swing me a little in his embrace before he stole a kiss, the kind that go through the body, head to toes.

The sun came out and we were still kissing.

End Chapter 28 TBC


	29. Chapter 29

_Five months earlier:_

A little sweaty, Jack ran naked down to the stream for a quick bath. The house is exactly the same as Sean and he had left it that morning. Except now Ianto was there and it smelled like their lovemaking. Jack made his excuses to Ianto after the young Welshman returned to his state of death.

Jack thought Ianto was done, that it would be the last time he would see him, and like Eugene, who Jack was convinced didn't leave the world for darkness, faded as he thought Ianto would.

Ianto stood in front of him six hours and ten minutes later. Jack tilted his head at the man.

"Ianto shouldn't you be saying good bye or something? I mean you're still there." Slowly Jack walked over to his once lover and tentatively reached for his face. Smiling at the outcome he said. "Transparent, and I'm going to be the only one to see you. Nice. Let me guess, Sean?"

"Maybe he is more aware of you than you think. I would imagine that someone like him would feel what you are going to do. So I think I figured out what you are going to do as well. Oh, he did give me the choice. "

In the past, Jack recalled that Ianto Jones knew everything, and what he didn't know he was willing to learn. This could be an advantage. Ghost Reconnaissance was not a bad business proposition. Ianto was still helping Jack, even in his current state. But what was he on about with Sean?

"Level with me for a second here. I don't want any puzzles from you; I'm too tired to figure them out right now. Sean gave you a choice, he told you that it would be for 6 hours and after that you could stay or go. But the cost of staying was his life; obviously he meant that you could live again. But you didn't take him up on it, because that isn't who you are." Jack smirk at the look in Ianto's wide eyes.

"I would assume from my talks with him that Sean wouldn't have let me have that choice if he knew I would allow him to die. So as a reward, he has decided to let me stay, I would think to help you. But I'm still unsure how he knew that you would need that help."

Jack started to laugh and he was laughing so hard, that he started to cough. "Because I told him that I work better alone, that I could get more done if I didn't have to worry about others. That was days ago, one night after we… well you know. Anyway he asked me if I preferred to do things by myself. I told him that if I was afraid that something was going to happened to him that yes I would rather go it alone and hope he would be okay with it. He was fishing for something. He might have seen something or felt something that made him think that I would go on by myself soon." Jack stopped trying to remember exactly what it was that Sean saw in him that gave so much away. It was making his head hurt trying to understand Sean's abilities.

"He seems to be aware of a lot of things Jack. I'm sure he knows that you would never want him in harm's reach again and at the mercy of those malcontents. He might just have put the pieces together himself. And knowing that, decided since we were partners of a fashion in the past that you would need me. For he is the one keeping me here. After all, he summoned Liam, Elaine and myself to the field. I was also sent to do some digging but I don't know who did that. That was not Sean."

The statement hung in the air between the two men.

He started to dress. Jack watched and felt a stir in his groin. "Damn, I hate you Ianto, you are too beautiful."

"Jack, we are never to be together again. I'm sure if you can see that, but I have an ending, so let's move on. Let's get back to Sean." He winked at his Captain as he buttoned his shirt.

"Can't a guy look at his dead lover and get excited anymore? You act like it is something new." The pillow Ianto threw at Jack was from this patch of time and it did hit him in the face. "Okay, I get it. So you can touch things just not be touched. Sean is starting to really confuse me. Anyway, that is where I need you for one more mission. Feeling a bit Bondish, Mr. Jones?"

The eye roll was a trademark of the young Welshman. He never would refuse Jack. "More like Ianto Jones: Ghost Detective. Well it is a step above a wedding fairy, it has some perks, and I get to work with you a little longer. Sure, why not go slipping unseen in the places where others can't go? Now I'm more like a spy. I would be honored." Smiling he buckled his belt as Jack got up to leave.

"Give me a moment by myself, okay Yan?"

"Of course." Jack didn't see the smile fade as he left the house. If he still could, Ianto thought, he would cry. But dead things don't have tears, at least not this one. The time for tears already past.  
Liam cried like a baby when he thought Sean was dying and he couldn't help him. Ianto had shed so much in his life that he refused to let death find him weeping.

As he left the house Jack was trying to gather together what he knew about Sean. It was these thoughts that Jack focused on. The mere idea that Sean would have given his life for him to be with Ianto had been upsetting to him. Sean thought so less of his value in this world. Yet Jack has seen nothing short of miracles that happened when the young man was around. The things he could do were so far above anything that he had seen or known about.

Ianto the bird landed near the stream on a log and chirped at Jack, making him look at the bird. "Really, do you think even the Doctor could understand Sean? He barely understands me."

Ianto the bird chirped again and scrunched his eyes at Jack.

"Yes I'm going and I know it will hurt him if I don't explain it to him. I'd rather he was safe my friend, do you understand? I seem to be spending a lot of time talking to things that don't talk back. But you have to hear me out on this." He splashed the water over the lather on his body and then shivered realizing he was cold. "I'm in love with Sean, and Ianto the Welshman was once my lover, but he like me realized that everything has its time. Well except me. I'm apparently timeless. Sean gets that, he asks for nothing, for that I will give him all of it. So you can keep that thought safe for me, my friend, for when I come back. Sean can have his own life. One where no one will hurt him ever again." Jack shook the water out of his hair and his body, and naked he stood ready to begin the next phase.

"As you once loved me?" The overwhelming smell of honeysuckle accompanied by a female voice made Jack whip his head around.

"Elaine?" Jack could do nothing but stare at his long dead wife. "You were the only one who had that title." He absentmindedly said out loud.

"Excuse me? Oh, the marriage. I was surprised to learn that from Ianto. Oh, and the fact that you also liked men. I never would have imagined you were so… flexible." She giggled the musical sound that Jack could only remember in troubled dreams.

"Elaine, what are you doing here?" She frowned. "Wait, not that I'm not happy to see you, it is just that I didn't think that I would be able to ever see you again." He checked her up and down. She was still beautiful. Red flowing hair swirled around her head like a strawberry halo, crowned with the evening moonlight. Jack remembered his evenings out here with his wife. And like any man, he reacted to the stirring thoughts.

"Jack, now is not the time to be 'standing at attention!' You always had the worst timing." She giggled.

"What? My timing was always impeccable! Always. Well, there was that time with your father in the garden at your house. I think he was more impressed that I stood still that long, while The Vicar and his wife passed by the fountain. If I remember correctly, I did block the view with the head of the dolphin." His smile was reminiscent as he thought of all the times he had spent with his Elaine. They were very wild at the beginning of their courtship.

"We were just lucky that the Vicar was half blind and his wife had an addled mind."

"You were lucky I was in the middle of act two of that play that day, Elaine. And the Vicar was deaf as well. You were giggling up a storm. So was your father. Those were great times, my love. What went wrong?" He closed his eyes as the pain washed over him. All the good times wiped away by the memory of her lying there, leaving this world all alone with no one to say goodbye to.

"You are who you are, my love. Nothing can change that, but I see that Sean can, and Ianto, he is a charmer. You have to understand Jack, we were part of it, and so is Sean. Part of the journey that is your life and the part with me is finished along with that of Ianto." As Elaine walked towards Jack, she made the gesture to caress his cheek.

Closing his eyes, he felt the ghostly touch of his wife. He let his mind remember the feelings they had for each other and the grace of this woman who shared in his passion for life.

His eyes opened to hers, warm and loving as she stood before him. He was aware that she needed to tell him something. That was why she was here before him.

"It rains when he's sad now, Jack. His fear is that he will lose you. He seems strong, but Sean will do things against his own feelings all the time. He learned from Liam to protect the things they love. From what I gather he believes that adage that if you love something that you have to let it go."

Capturing his blue eyes, she held his gaze.

"Then I should go back to him. Tell me, will he understand why I have to go, that it is better he stays safe, here and gets well?"

"He will in time, and though it seems he trust you to come back, he still has enough human weakness to believe otherwise. In the end it will be up to you how much you will tell him." She smiled remembering how hard it was for Jack to tell the whole truth. Who he was made sure of that, an immortal man could never tell others the full truth.

"When did you become so insightful?" He wished he could kiss her. In his state he walked to a large rock by the side of the water and sat down. He didn't need her looking down at his crotch again.

"I had a long time to things about things. Jack, Sean will understand. I think him going through a little pain right now will strengthen your relationship. Ianto seems to think Sean won't react to your leaving. But he will feel the pain. It is best you just go. I know that it seems horrid, but the poor dear needs time to grow. You can't help him there". She heard a man's laugh coming towards the pasture. "I should go, I have someone waiting."

"I know you're here Elaine, come give Jack his present." Jack heard his voice say.

"Wait, you are with me? How is that possible?" He didn't need her to answer, Sean was responsible and he must have given her a present as well. "Sean blessed you with another chance with me. He is not deserving of me. He is so far above me." Jack looked at the ground as the thoughts spread like cancer through his mind.

"Oh I doubt that my love, Sean and you are made for each other." With that note, she vanished and the laughter paired and faded into the sounds of crickets.

Jack reflected on the evening. He was given more than anyone ever got. With more determination than ever, he swore he would protect his Angel so no one ever hurt him again. Letting Sean heal and grow in his abilities was the best gift Jack could think of giving Sean.

Jack would go after the psychopaths that hurt Sean. Paul Tabor was at the head of that list.

He pushed himself off the rock and went back to Ianto. It was time to get moving. Right now he didn't need self-pity; he needed to be functional.

Ianto was in the kitchen looking at the stove where the coffee pot was.

"One more cup would have been nice! Jack you look like you've seen a ghost. Oh wait, you are looking at one now." Jack walked past him and headed to the living room to redress himself. He was silent as he put on his socks and underwear while Ianto watched in the doorway.

"Since when do you wear underwear?" Ianto was trying to break the ice, but Jack didn't pay any attention to it.

Feeling rejected or jilted, Ianto looked at Jack. He seemed to be thinking about things and was barely aware that Ianto was there. Ianto grew concerned as if he had missed something.

"Ianto, I feel guilty. I feel like crap about it, but I still love you and would do this all again. All of it, I would do everything that we shared and had all over again. But now I know that I love Sean. I don't know what to do with this." He pulled the pair of blue denim jeans on and went for a black tee shirt.

"You're not going to mess it up. You're going to make it so you can have a life, one where there isn't too much Torchwood interference. You are going to give him a chance to do what he has to do. And he is going to give you the same. When it is all said and done, you will meet in the middle and just love each other, and nothing to interfere with it. At least that is my dream for you."

He smiled warmly at his Captain as he watched him slip the leather jacket on.

"You don't were the greatcoat anymore?" Ianto moved his head side-to-side trying to figure out who the oddly dressed man was in front of him.

"No, haven't since I left six months after you died. I just couldn't be that Jack anymore. I gave it to the captain of the ship I hitched a lift from. He had to cut out an extra arm hole but it looked good on him."

"Oh." Ianto sounded hurt and looked worse.

"Ianto, that was the old me. This is the new me. I'm no longer that man that you love. I could never be him again. He died that day with you. But I went on living, what was left of me. Sean brought me back to life; otherwise I would have been so lost. Walking through time without seeing the good that is still out there. He pulled me back here and gave me a purpose again. That is why I retired the coat for good. It carried too many old memories of that past life. I'm sorry." Jack wished he could hold his old love one more time. Ianto was visibly upset; it was hard enough that he was dead. But to not be able to comfort this man that once gave Jack such forgiveness was truly painful.

"Jack, I understand." He sucked in his breath. "Well, we should get a move on if we are to get to Cardiff sometime soon. I'll wait in the car. Make sure you blow the candles out." He vanished and left Jack with his thoughts for a bit.

Jack checked the house and with a turn of the key, begged Sean to understand. He would be back, and when he did return it would be the beginning of the rest of their lives together.

_March 7th 2011:_

__

I've been finding out all these things that Liam did against the Project. He somehow improved on Sean, not the way we wanted improvement but the way he thought best for that horrid boy. Sean has been nothing but trouble since Liam fell in love with him. We should have pulled Liam from the experiment a long time ago. I mean before Sean was able to manipulate his heart. Liam should have loved me, but that is not why I'm mad.

The Creature suggested we bring Sean back into the lab. That we could fix all that went wrong with him. I told him that it would be too much effort to wipe his mind again. There is no way that imp would cooperate with the program, he is too pure in soul to kill. Liam saw to that with his love. I was foolish; I should have killed the brat when I had the chance.

Why is it always Sean in the spotlight?

I had an idea; we started research on another child. She is a 4 year old that was an AIDS baby. Poor thing doesn't stand a chance. Her mom, though part of the breeding program, left the man we chose for her and ran off while pregnant and went back to her old ways. The heroin monkey was on her back. Nice, we didn't have to give the child any illness like we did Sean.

After her mom died, her father didn't know that she existed. No tears like from Peter as he watched his son die. The son we gave him through our breeding program.

Sean was perfectly health until I gave him Leukemia. A simple bone graph in a broken leg and there it is, our experiment begins.

Peter was a problem. Sean was weak because he knew love from one parent. The Creature loved Sean and we had to keep hurting it into telling us the processes of how to make Sean into the weapon we needed. It didn't want to hurt something it cared about and that it helped create.

The Creature made me, oh what a mistake that was; he really thought he was doing something good. He approached me. UNIT was going to fire me, too many Jack Harknesses in my life. I got into so much trouble because of him. I gave away UNIT secrets to Torchwood. Well, the others got just the same. And I got sex. And off course a lot of jail time.

So on assignment, I am badly hurt, I lay there dying, bleeding out and I see my life pass before my eyes. It is then an angel asked if I wanted to live.

"Yes." And it heals me and improves me. I stop aging. I am given a purpose.

It tells me its story. I think of who would buy such a creature and make me in charge of the mad plan I have in my brain. The highest bidder wins and I am given a key position.

UNIT thinks I'm dead. The creature became our prisoner and will die in the grave we choose for it.

Sean is still with us, we take him out and make him do things against his nature and then wipe his mind. I like the fact that Sean always will think he killed Liam.

I killed Liam; I choked the life out of him with a thought. He begged up until the end for Sean's life. God, if just once he had asked for me to love him again, I would have let the brat off easy.

Now I just sit and wait until the time when the poison I feed him in the form of mood elevating drugs finish the job that a quick thought otherwise would have done.

Besides, the project is far from complete, and until the girl goes on line, Sean is allowed to live.

Still, that doesn't mean I can't fuck with him!

Paul Tabor  
Head supervisor  
The Project

Alice closed the sickening log she found in the system, from one of the many Project's abandoned facilities and began to download it onto the portable hard drive. It was one of several dead ends that her Dad seemed to be leading them on. Elizabeth Knowlens was no help. Of course, the fact that Jack was trying to beat the truth out of her only made the rest of the team cautious of his mental state.

It was also like they were being led to a certain location. She was getting those instincts her mother taught her to work out. The hairs on the back of her neck were sticking up. And she was feeling on edge again. It was like the same feeling she got with Steven during the 456. A sinking sensation that something was not quite as it seemed.

She watched her Dad as Steve slipped through her thoughts. Jack stopped for a moment and shared a look with his daughter. As if he knew she was still in some pain from Steven's loss, Jack nodded and went back to ripping apart another panel looking for something that would lead them to the truth.

Without thinking, he returned to the conversation he was having with what Gwen was calling his invisible friend. She didn't want think that her Dad was going insane. Alice was reminded of the movie "Harvey the invisible rabbit." But if an immortal goes insane, where do you lock him up?

The thought of a cryogenic unit made Alice shiver. That was a fate she would not want for anyone mad or sane. As much as her mother would have enjoyed the entertaining thought of Jack Harkness' balls finally frozen along with the rest of him, she would never have enjoyed it really happening. Nor would Alice. With everything going on and everything at had happened, she was still his little girl and he was her Dad. Nothing would change that. She still loved him. As much as she still loved Steven and her mom, those were her truths. She would learn to live with that. So if he were mad, she would learn to accept it and help him until the day she couldn't.

'If only Steven really knew whom Jack really was to him. Would life have been better for us? I was wrong to take that way from both of them. Instead of creating a family, I made them both lonely.' The thought brought the image of Steven's sad face back to her when he waited for Jack at the window. She never had the heart to tell him when Uncle Jack wasn't going to show up. Maybe it would have been easier if Steven had known the truth.

What mattered now was getting past the mess that became her life and making a difference for all the Stevens out there, and to make sure it never happened again to a parent, the loss of a child in such away.

Jack raced past her again talking to his imaginary friend.

"Ianto, what do you want me to do?"

"Well, you could stop talking and I could read your thoughts. That way they won't keep looking at you as if you were insane." Ianto scanned the room as the others diverted their eyes away from Jack's ramblings.

"Did he just say Ianto?" Mickey asked Gwen. She nodded and looked at the scanning device he was holding to check his data. "Oh great, he is mad!" Gwen slapped him a warning with a glance not to draw attention to him and let Jack do whatever it was he was doing.

Jack blinked at Ianto and then smiled. "So, you can read my thoughts? Then you must know what I am thinking!" He smirked at the pink Welshman that stood before him.

"No I can't read you bloody thoughts, Jack! I used to wish I could." Ianto looked at his Captain for a brief moment. Then he looked at Alice. "Then we never would have wasted so much time trying to figure out what we were to each other. We would have just spent more time being."

It was the tone that Ianto had that made Jack sigh. He heard its sound before, a little bit frustration, with regret and despair. Jack felt ashamed that he let things get so bad between them. "I'm sorry and I will be forever that we never talked more. I'm glad we are doing it now. At least I know where I stand for once."

He smiled in the direction of nothing. Alice, Mickey and Gwen watched with fascination. Really, it was like Jack was talking to the dead.

"Do we ask him about this Gwen, Alice?" Mickey looked at the two women.

Both shook their heads no. It was better to let sleeping ghost things stay sleeping.

"If he wants us to know, he will tell us." Gwen perplexed face showed just at what a loss she was for the correct meaning of action with the Captain's sudden personality change.

"You bitch; you want to know just as much as the rest of us!" Alice stressed to her. She bore the Harkness grin of 'I knew it' as Gwen blinked at Alice's bluntness.

The alarm sounded its "beep, beep, beep," alerting the group that it had located another place belonging and once occupied by the group known as The Project.

"Jack it seems to be an old Cryogenics lab. Not far from here, maybe under an hour's drive," Mickey said.

"With your driving, that would be ten minutes." Ianto quipped.

Jack grunted at him and went to the laptop that Mickey was turning towards him for a view.

"Oh and you still grunt like a man in heat, just to let you know." Ianto was snickering as Jack glared at him before giving Mickey his full attention.

Ianto came up next to Jack to look at the information presented for them to read. "I know that place. I'll go ahead and snoop around. This way you will know if it is safe." He was enjoying the moment as Jack shot him a concerned look; it was almost like the past, but for one difference.

"Be careful Ianto, don't be heroic!" He looked at the man that was once his lover and pouted.

Before he could correct himself, Ianto turned and sarcastically said with a trace of pain. "I'm already dead Jack. Remember? They can't hurt me anymore." And with that, Ianto faded away.

Jack held a hand up to the empty place, unaware that the others were trying hard to not saying anything. It was he who spoke first as they need to know the truth. Besides Ianto needed time to find out what he could, secure the area so no one got hurt. It was the least the ghost could do for the others.

But as Jack was spilling his guts out to the loved ones in front of him, he was really wishing for Sean to be there as well. If the truth must be told then let it all come out.

End Chapter 29 TBC


	30. Chapter 30

_Some months ago:_

"Peter, I need to have a word with you." Jack said as he poked his head around the corner of the holding cell. He had just sent Ianto off on an errand for a little peace and quiet. He wanted to talk to Sean's Da without any interruptions. The last thing he needed was a dead lover hearing his thoughts about his living lover. As much as he loved Ianto, Jack was starting to realize that it was beginning to feel like a burden more than a pleasure at having him around. It was very hard to move on and fix things when a reminder of a failure was near. He failed Ianto; that was in his face every time he looked at him. And it was apparent that Ianto was starting to realize that the grass wasn't always greener on the other side. He knew Jack better now and it was becoming painful to be near him.

Sean was teaching both of them a lesson. That some things are better left alone. The love was still felt; it was just not the right time anymore. Plus they couldn't touch and Jack was become aware that was an important part of their relationship. All the things words didn't cover fell to the closeness of bodies, with gentle kisses and mouths on soft skin. They had had a tactile existence. And it was beautiful.

He moved his attention away from the Welshman and returned to the old man's downcast gaze. Peter Knowlens was a broken man. All he wanted was lost along with his son's love. Sean would hate everything he recently had done to allow the nameless ones to find him. At least that was what he believed.

"I failed him, Jack. I've lost him…" The sad old man held his hands to his face and let go of his sorrow.

Jack moved closer to the cell and unlocked the door. He slowly sat down within reach of Peter and put an arm around the old man.

"In his eyes you could never fail him, Peter. Sean loves you so much. He understands."

Wiping the snot away from his nose and using his sleeve to blot his eyes, Peter began to tell his side of the story to the Immortal lover of his son.

"I was beginning to think that love and family were never for me. I never had a woman well not one that stayed with me. I was very lonely and out of touch with social graces so I never seemed to fit in. Sean seems to not have inherited that problem. He warms the souls of anyone that comes near him. That is from neither his mother nor me, it is all his. I don't think I was ever considered a beauty or handsome. I am very unattractive. That was my truth to myself. I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I would always come across as the butt end of a joke."

Peter lifted his head to met Jack's eyes. He had Sean's eyes, hazel, round and soulful. The kind of eyes you could look into as you made love, or just watch looking at the world around. Sean eyes were deep. Peter's were the same.

Father and son were more alike than they realized. "You have the same eyes, Peter. I think that counts for something. You gave him that, and his passion for life, that was you as well. Peter, if I may say something, Sean is lucky to have someone to love him so much he would risk it all just for him." Jack smile led the older man to warm up and return it in kind.

"It still doesn't make any of it right. His mother was a bitch, but I fell for her, and they said that we should produce a child. She hated me, even her other children were shipped away. Sean was left and she disappeared more and more as he got older. I didn't mind, though. I loved her but I had my beautiful son. Is it true that Paul gave him cancer so the program could be sped up? God, he was a monster for allowing my little boy to suffer in such pain! I remember thinking that something was going to change and Paul came into Sean's room and said that he knew a way to help the boy.

"If only I knew that his mother was aware of the whole thing, they played me like the idiot I was. Do you know after she conceived him, we never had sex again? She didn't come near me. I barely got to touch him when he was growing inside her, no gentle words to him from his dad while he formed. Nothing. She shooed me away and told me that I smelled.

"Once, she allowed me to touch her expanding middle. I cried as I felt him move. A son! A beautiful son, all mine. I could play catch with him, love him, read to him and take him to the movies and museums. All the things I never had with my dad. Jack, I never meant to harm anyone." He pleaded with Jack.

The strong arms of Jack Harkness wrapped around the father of his lover. He held the old man as he let all the pain out. The pent up guilt washed over the Captain, freeing Peter at last. When he was all done, he returned to telling his story.

"She left the second she could after his birth, the other children never knew their brother for long, and they never came back to the big house we lived in. She went to London having a thing for the West End and a social need with the rich elite. Money was never good for me. I barely worked; she was from well off parents. To think she married me then, I should have questioned it. But I was in love and now with this baby in my arms I didn't care about her half as much. I spent my life raising him for the next 10 years.

"You should have seen him as a child. He always had to see what made things tick. What would put movement in something; how things worked in every way were things he loved to do. He loved the human mind and I would find him listening to the ramblings of the old men at the park as they played chess. This brown haired imp would just be sitting there watching and listening to grandpas as they chattered about this and that. In time they grew to expect him and he joined them in their games and talks. I would sit on the bench and watch him beat them at chess and I would think to myself, 'he is mine; I had something to do with that.' He was a miracle.

"When he fell ill, those men from the park came to see him at the hospital for a little bit. I guess being so close to death themselves they couldn't do it anymore and stopped showing up. Sean was too sick by then to notice. He was so pale and a wisp of that boy that would spend hours talking to adults. When it became apparent he was going to leave me, he spoke to me about it. He said he was not afraid to die, just afraid of what his death would do to me. My son was worried about my feelings! It was then that I lost it and wept openly in front of him. He cried as he consoled me. Telling me he would stay as long as he could, that he didn't wish for me to be alone. Jack, now do you see why I let them have him? If he held on for me, I needed to do something for him. I wanted to be a man, the kind I should have been for him. When Paul came, I let him be taken because I needed Sean to know I saved him. And for the most part I think he knew that. Until Liam came along."

Peter snuggled into Jack's warmth, much the way Sean did when he was sick. So much of what Peter said hit home with a part deep inside Jack. The warmth of his father that loved his family, Jack thought of his Dad. It had been a long time since he did. With Grey had gone for good in the explosion that changed the rest of their lives; he knew it was never going to be the same. But then again nothing ever was, not when you live forever.

"My Dad died in an invasion," Jack began, feeling the need to share the pain of with man in his arms. "The things that attacked took my little brother alive. When he found me, they did things to him, abuses that I couldn't even begin to understand. He wanted revenge because I let go of his hand. They taught him to be that way, gave him hate as the fuel to keep him going. I look at Sean and see what could have been for him, had he been full of hatred. Peter, your love kept him from being vengeful. If you could see him now, the real him, not the one they made to do evil, you would be amazed. Peter, he is nothing like what they set out to create. He cleans the bad and creates peace. I can't explain it myself but he is always there to heal.

"Ianto, the one that I have been talking to, died a while back; Sean has given me a chance with him, and with my late wife, to make my peace with them. He is using his abilities to heal me from within. I can't explain it any better other than it's because I have no way of understanding it. It is just this feeling I get when he looks at me, like there is this connection between us. Something very caring, I really am bad at this. But I know one thing; I admit freely that I love him. Something with in words I have had a hard time doing in the past to others. He gave me the chance to say it to Ianto. That is more then anyone ever let me have."

"My son has grown to be a man. I think the both of you have been a great for each other. Jack, tell me more about this new person my son has become."

Jack explained all that Sean has been up to. He told Peter that his friend Ralph had been given him reports of Sean's increased health and the progress of the community of Hope under his guidance. Jack watched as the pain slipped from Peter's aged face and became the youthful joy of a proud father. With each detail of Sean's happy life, Peter became increasingly glad that Jack had found his son and saved him.

"A garden? He is growing food? I wonder what gave him that desire?" Peter glanced at Jack who just shook his head.

"Don't know, but I think by the time this is over we will find out. I just hope that it doesn't take too long. I really miss him. I asked that Sean doesn't find out what I'm up to. I have been told he goes through bouts of depression because I haven't contacted him. I can't, I want him safe. Peter, you of all people should understand this." He pulled the older man closer.

"I do, but he loves you Jack, don't stray from him for to long, he'll think you abandoned him. Think of Liam dying and how that tore him apart. If he was to lose hope now, that would be the end of him." Peter reached for Jack's hand and wrapped it in his. The gesture made Jack blush. He realized that Sean was a lot like his dad. It made sense that father and son would both understand him so well.

They remained like that for a while as they talked about each other, Sean and life. Jack was glad that they were becoming friends. He asked Peter to come with him, that he needed his help in tracking down the others that had hurt Sean. Paul was at the top of the list. So far, Paul was still dead as far as the world was concerned and therefore impossible to trace. That is why Jack needed Ianto. To go unseen into the enemy camp and not be able to be hurt. Ianto was a great asset to them and to Jack.

They returned to the main room of the neo Hub just in time for dinner. It was more synthetic food that turned Jack off so he just sipped some water and nibbled on some bread. He had grown use to real food since he had been in the country. He had missed cooking and he missed eating with Sean.

He would get back there to the place he loved the most; he would have the normal life that he wanted. And Sean would have it as well. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even a year from now, but it would happen. Something in his life had to go right.

The way to the Cryogenic facility was blocked by Rift activity en mass in Cardiff. Once again Jack became the Captain and worked with his team to stop a bunch of super large intergalactic "nanny goat" like creatures from eating all the metal in the city. Rounding up the herd proved to be time consuming but in the end the streets were safe again and free of the waste matter that big metal eating alien animals with purple and black fur could leave behind.

Poor Andy and Rhys, there wasn't a pooper-scooper large enough to pick the stinky foul smelling goo that was left behind. Oddly enough when hit with water it became soapy and sweet smelling. Cardiff took on the scent of a rose while the fire companies at Andy's insistence used big hoses to scrub the streets clean. Jack was laughing at the joke behind this that somehow the Universe once again made shit smell like roses.

Alice smiled at her Dad's quick wit and went back to typing up the logs that they found in the last place they had been. She was trying desperately not to lose it on all the references to the 456. That was making her want to go after every asshole in the government for not seeing the danger and preparing for it. They still just let it happen. And her son, Steven saved their children's lives and theirs as well.

She never even received a thank you for sacrificing her son for the greater good. Nor even any compensation. Johnson was the only one to help with the burial. She stole Steven's body and they laid him to rest in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

"No one will harm him again." Johnson said as she left Alice alone in her sorrow.

Each day the pain started to lessen now that Alice had Torchwood. She was able to see the good that her son's iconic image did for the rest of humanity. She missed him painfully, but it was getting better. Sometimes one just needed comfort in knowing that it could work out for the best. Seeing the children playing in the park and watching Ianto Owen grow, somehow justified that pain.

Jack watched her type. He was afraid to go to her. If he could have found another way, his beautiful grandson would still be there with them, and the world may have not seemed so bleak for him to hitch a ride away from this blue planet where he had spent so much time.

The Earth was now his home more than any other place he ever lived. It took him two hundred years to find that out and six gifted hours with a handsome, cheeky Welshman to come to terms with that. This place birthed the ones he loved the best. Now it was up to him to protect them, and for once the greater good seemed small compared to the faces he searched out in the room. He had family, and they were the ones he would fight for. An Angel was in the countryside, struggling with his ascension to godhood, and for his very life. Jack had better start learning to be part of this human race or everything he felt for Sean would never mean anything.

"You are teaching me how to live," he said to the air.

Ianto smiled sadly. It was just that Jack held so much in. Watching him now that Ianto wasn't wondering what their relationship was all about, allowed Ianto to see that Jack was changing. Jack Harkness was human and so much more than a random act by a girl in a blue box. Jack was a man who understood what it was all about.

"It only took you, what, over two thousand years? Good thing you can't die!" Ianto smirked, making Jack scrunch up his face and grunt.

"You are snarkier now that you are dead. I like it." The Immortal smiled at his ghost lover.

"You like my cheek and that is something that never changed. Face it, there were times I confused you. That you just didn't wrap your brain around what I said. I'm that smart!"

"Oh Mr. Jones, you did more than confuse me, you enticed me and held me together as well. Ianto, I can never tell you what you did for me, it is so layered that it would never sound right in words. I only wish I had used more actions between us. Sorry for doubting us." He stood there open and bleeding, the truth pouring out onto the floor creating a puddle at his feet, spilling in drifts to stop in front of Ianto.

"This is the Jack I wanted to see. I know it was all worth it. I would never change a moment, not for anything. Jack…" He stopped himself from going further. He left it there and turned heading for Archives leaving Jack with a deeper awareness that he wasn't a monster. A Welshman with a suit fetish loved him and he was forgiven.

Alice was in the same state of mind as she watched her father talk to the invisible Ianto. The look of defeat that was followed by one of great humility made her father look human. At that second, he was her Daddy again, and would stay that way for the rest of her life. She got up from her desk and went to him.

The warmth of her touch surprised him. He let it happen for a change. Feeling her next to him made him gather strength. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She was still hurting, but least she was not walling herself in any more. She had her Dad back. Both father and daughter could at last begin to heal.

"Singfiuts, they are called Singfiuts. The creatures were genetically created to depose of waste on mining colonies in the 40th century. They have a large appetite they would be uses as a living junkyard. Their waste was used as soap." Jack looked at the group that stared at him.

"What if there wasn't enough for them to eat and their number increased?" Mickey asked genuinely concerned. It was his car they ate when they first came through the Rift. Gwen laughed when he asked if Torchwood was going to by him a new one. Mickey sulked the rest of the morning, mumbling that if you put a woman in charge, she will never think that a man's car is important.

'It was only my chance at freedom from a hellion she devil who works her staff to death." Gwen smiled politely as she told him to stuff it. Though later that afternoon, Mickey was the proud owner of a new used car. Andy simply said that the owner donated it to the cause. Mickey was afraid to ask exactly what that meant.

To Mickey's question, Jack replied. "The colonists would eat them. What?" He yelled as they all looked at him with horror. "I have it on the best authority that they taste like chicken."

"Why does everything that isn't chicken universal adopt the taste of chicken?" Rhys asked.

"Funny you should ask that. Not everything tastes like chicken Rhys, they have this six legged sheep thing on a planet outside the Crab Nebula that when cooked just right has the taste of a male…"

"Jack! Shut it! We have work to do and right now I don't have time nor do they to be sidetracked by your stories." Gwen huffed and Jack looked hurt but backed down. He was not leader any more; it was Gwen's show. He admired that she went straight to business and was willing to tell him to shut up. It was also somewhat of a turn on for him.

"Sorry," he said and closed his mouth.

"Right. Martha and Alice, stay on the Project and assist Jack and Ianto," she looked around trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of her countryman, "in anyway they need. I want those logs in the system and at my terminal as soon as possible."

"The rest are still on Singfiut clean up and I don't want to hear that I'm having chicken for dinner tonight, Rhys Williams. I'm not in the mood; I suddenly have a headache. I'm going to my office to do some paper work. Jack, if you ever want your job back… the answer would be no!" She beamed at her mentor and retired to her office.

Rhys watched his wife and sighed. "I wish she would just let me in sometimes." He looked at Jack for the answers.

As if reading his mind, Jack shook his head. "Sorry Rhys, I need to still work on myself before I can give help to others. My doctor told me that." He grinned and quickly walked away with Alice.

Mickey took Jack's lead and headed for the door with a "Sorry, goat-like creatures to get rid of." Rhys sighed and followed Andy out the door with Mickey.

Andy turned for a brief moment to spy Alice with her dad. When things calmed down, Jack Harkness's daughter or not, he was going to ask her out on a date.

In due time they were able to get back on track and arrived at the Cryogenics facility that was where it had all begun.

The sight they found in the place was horrific. There in the basement were hundreds of bodies in storage. An equipment failure killed the 'humans' that were there. The smell made even Jack wretch. After the team retrieved gas masks from the SUV, they headed back inside.

Mickey secured the place by over riding the booby traps or hidden devices that might have hurt or killed them during the investigation. But just in case he missed something he suggested that Jack lead the way.

"You can't die, remember, so you can take one for the team." Mickey joked and playfully punched Jack in the arm.

The Immortal knew that the young man spoke the truth. But it would be safer to send Ianto in first. He had already done a sweep of the place and found that in the furthest basement floor there was something of interest for them. It was still alive, but just barely. Jack was a little anxious to get to the area before something happened.

"Wait Jack, what makes you think something is going to happen?" Andy asked him.

Martha smiled and looked at the former Doctor's companion and remembered. She answered for Jack. "Because something always happens all the time."

Jack's smile was like a sad morning, he knew all too many truths to those words. "Ianto, lead the way please." Ianto walked in front of Jack as they began the path though the maze that was the basement of the facility. Gwen was behind Jack followed by Mickey and Andy. Rhys and Alice stayed up top to run the computers and collect any other information that may be helpful.

Alice found something very interesting hidden in the first layer of the data that by all accounts should have been eradicated. The first part was the just creepy. It concerned the 456. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

"Dad, I think I should tell you a story while you make you way downstairs. You will find this interesting. I find it sick. Does any of this, this life we lead ever make you sick?"

The day he held Ianto in his arms and watched the life fade, yes that had made him sick. He watched the young Welshman's ass walk ahead of him. He was sick because he cheated on Sean, and he would have to explain that. Sean may feel it was okay, but it still ate at Jack that he got a chance at a new life and he jumped into bed with a dead lover.

"Yes kitten, all the time. Your father isn't that cold. What did you find out?" He closed his eyes to clear his mind of distraction. The path ahead should be paid attention to and not jaded by thoughts of his weaknesses. "I love you," the thought of Sean cleared his mind as he walked carefully with gun at the ready. The others did the same.

_Document 121 found system from the unnamed Cryogenic Facility #2:_

The group didn't have purpose until an Alien race known only as the 456 came to Earth and stole the children. They gave humanity a cure for a virus that could have wiped out a large amount of the population. The cure gave the group more than that. It gave them power. And they used it to the fullness of their capability. They started to manufacture drugs. All types of cures for the ill and dying were churned out from one suggested cure from an Alien race that took 11 children, sometime back in 1965.

Humanity can be sick. Not as a group. But some chosen few saw opportunity within panic. Why not use it to control an industry? The bright ones said. "And there is always room for expansion. We can seek other things for profit. Hey, that is what mankind is, opportunistic!"

The great protectors of mankind and the planet Earth went to the group and proposed a joining to prevent the 456 in extracting payment again. They knew the race to be vile and that it fed off of others. The creatures didn't like others to hurt the children of planet Earth. The 456 were the enemy.

The group assured the creatures that since they were earth residents they came first and of course they would not deal with the 456 again.

The grouped lied. The group hunted and enslaved the creatures that came in peace. The group demanded that these creatures fight the 456.

"Two birds with one stone. We create the creatures' next step in evolution and then we teach those to defend against the 456." It was agreed.

The group had other plans as well and went by the name The Project. Hundreds of failures and with hundreds more in the wings, they had one success. A single male child, Sean Knowlens became their perfect killing machine. They could play with politics as well furthering their power.

Or so they thought.

End Chapter 30 TBC


	31. Chapter 31

"I will go on for along life then one day just fade away." The young Time God said to the Immortal God. "But until then we can be together."

The Immortal God embraced the Time God as they coupled by the stream near the cottage in the Eden they designed.

"Even after that we will be together." The Immortal God kissed the Time God's nose. "I will take you with me until Time stops and I cry out to nothing invoking the ones I loved."

"With patience and love, you will wait for us to find you as we start the Universe again using are shared feelings. I will weave a new time, with you at the center and we will live next to you." The young Time God reached for his lover's face and lost the thoughts in his head to a kiss.

When they meet again it will be to light the way and the Universe will remember to love again. "As we remember your heart, life will start and it will be all yours. You shall never be alone again."

_The light from the early morning sun gave a strobe light pattern to the path that illuminated Sean as he bathed by the stream. Jack watched form the edge of the path as Sean cleansed his long legs and torso with the hand made soap one of the older Refugee women gave Jack and him for the food they gave to them. He could understand why so many of the people took to him like a bee to a flower. He was magnetic. _

_His Angel, Jack was calling him. It was truer with the sun dropping its highlighted light on the sculpted body of Sean Knowlens. Jack was transfixed. He was smiling with his thoughts. The dark mood that bought him down to talk with Sean was gone as he watched the performance of an Unearthly being before him. _

_Sean's smirking bought him down to Earth. "Really Jack you should learn how to not breathe so loud. I could hear over the water. You like what you see?" It was not meant to be vain. It was meant to confirm that Sean was indeed attractive enough to still hold Jack's interest. After all the fuss over the Captain from both men and women, Sean felt little insecure. _

"_Yes, I do. Sean you know I do." His Angel smiled at him with pleasure. The cold water didn't stop the excitement he could see in his lover's body. Sean was just standing there looking. It was the way his hair hung wet in front of his face. The blush that caressed his cheek that prompted the question from Jack, "Do you love me Sean, enough to trust me?"_

_Sean's hazel eyes shut for a moment as if he needed to imagine the answer before speaking it. He hoped it wasn't another dream. He tilted his head slightly to the left, as if he adjusted his view of the scene. Closed eyes, followed a swallow to pursed lips. He opened his eyes wide. "It must be important, what you are going to say, to bring up the L word now. That is a hard question to answer. I want to say yes." Closed eyes to a swallow, the eyes remind closed. He didn't want to see the face of his lover. "Do you love me?" The trust part he knew was understood. _

_Jack's warm breath was on Sean even before his ears picked up the splashing of water from an Immortal man entering the streambed. Jack pulled the wet Sean into a hug. "Yes." He held Sean tight as he began to shake. _

_Barely a whisper, "Yes it is then." He began to breathe. _

" _Sean, I just got word your father is missing. We need to not panic but think clearly. God it hurts to say this." Please don't let his Da be dead Jack said to the sky. Sean collapsed a little into Jack's embrace but then straighten up. _

"_Jack it is okay. I know my Da. He will be fine" He pulled away from his lover and looked into his eyes. "Jack if we head back to Cardiff now. It is for nothing. My love that is exactly what they want us to do. But we have our work here to do. I think my father would understand."_

_The explosion shook the earth as the smoke rose high into the sky, Jack was no where to be found as Sean realized it was not soap on his body but blood. _

Sean awoke sweating form his dream. He must have fallen asleep in Phil's tent for the younger man was wrapped up on the floor. It was wrong for him to be in Phil's bed. With much heaviness from the dream, Sean got up and knelt by the sleeping Phil. Gently he shook his arm.

"Sean you okay?" He blinked up at Sean's pale face and began to sit up. The groan that escaped him and the motion of his hand reaching around his back told Sean the floor was not comfortable.

With care Sean steady Phil. "Yeah, I'll giving you back you bed. They're going to get the wrong idea about us if I spend the night." It was a treat for Sean to see the blush on the younger man's face within the glow of the candlelight. They were still working on a way to power Hope up and that is what caused Sean to stay late in the first place.

"Sean you passed out, I was concerned not too mention Sun Cat is going to kill me for letting you stress out like that. You went white and if you hadn't said you were all right before you closed your eyes and your color came back, I would have had to get her. I really didn't want the boot in the ass treatment. She is scary." Phil pouted at his friend and then blessed him with a smile.

"I should have a talk with her. I'm well enough now that I don't need to be watched. I know she means well, but she shouldn't hold all of you responsible for my actions. Well I'm too tired to think about this right now." He stopped and pursed his lips before he add the next bit. "I wasn't here for awhile you know I had the strangest feeling and I followed it, only it was not physical. I had this feeling that Jack was there, I could almost smell him." He looked away from Phil to cover his darker mood. "I think that something is trying to get a hold of me. And then I had this dream. It made no sense but Jack was there and it turned ugly in the end. I don't know what it means. May be I'm just pushing to hard to get things done."

Phil nodded at his friend. There was something in the man that had Phil wondering. He knew that if he stuck with Sean, he would find peace. Sometimes it was like they were starting the new bible and he was a wise man or an apostle following the Messiah. That was wrong in so many of Phil's atheist ways but it seemed to fit with Rodger calling Sean's abilities the "Great Work" and that it was a calling. Phil was not far from philosophical but he did remember his Bible Stories and some how it seemed to fit.

"I could walk you to your tent." Phil suddenly realized just how bad that sounded.

It was Sean's turn to blush. "Why Phil I didn't think you noticed me like that!" He laughed and kissed Phil on the far head as he got up to leave.

"Funny man Sean, real funny." With some effort Phil got up and sat down on the bed. With sleep out of the picture for now he ran his fingers through his hair and thought on the whole religious idea behind Sean and his "Great Work." But maybe the Bible was nothing more then stories that were supposed to be told not are taken as law but just concepts. Something to follow and guide not worshiped and never question.

By now he was flowing with ideas. He still had enough charge in his laptop before he took it over to Ralph's and Helen's with the rest of the camps stuff to be recharged. They increased production on the wines with Sean's abilities and were selling it. Though he was still getting into arguments with Sean over the proper aging of things and not using "magic" to gain the quick fix in the loss of all the bottles Sean and Him and Paula) have been consuming. Phil was a naturalist; Sean would argue that his talents are natural. Phil tended to say a no to that.

Either way the sale of the product was paying for the electricity need for charging around 15 Laptops every few days. With the increase in power usage, to not raise any red flags, the couple cut their own usage down. Sean had constructed portals around their crops to keep them growing, and the engineers have installed solar panels that with Sean's help charges with the sun at least once a day, even in the rain. The panels and windmills have been set up around the camp and their power grid will be on shortly. Sean smiles as the others seem to shake their head when he insisted the easy part was to catch the sun and wind. The hard part was building the transition plant and running the cables to each tent to set up it up for electricity. They could stop borrowing from the neighbors then and share it as well. The plan was for the system to produce more then Hope needed.

Laying the cables became easier when Sean walked on the trenches and loosened the dirt. He called it time tilling, Paula and Rita called it creepy. Sean laughed and said he was sorry for freaking them out but it was the fastest way to get the job done. They had a nice debate over it as the opened the fifth bottle of Phil's wine that night.

Smiling Phil remembered the tale and started to write the Book according to Phil. He would run the whole idea about writing their times with Sean down passed Paula and Rita and maybe even Rodger later. But now he was furiously writing and it started with something like this.

Among the darkness that the 456 bought when they needed our children to get high off of a young, God came unto the displaced of the world. He raised his hand and blessed the land. And with the help of his Chosen he laid the foundation and built the temple for us and began to heal the whole world.

Ianto was at his wits end trying to find the source of the life he was sent to find. He made a turn and there it stood. Or rather He stood, tall and proud and cloud of following white hair wrapped in a shroud that clung to a thin form. Too thin to be healthy, Sean thin, Ianto thought.

"Oh God, it is the creature in the log that Alice was reading before." The dead Welshman walked closer to the figure that now seemed to be resembled a human as he came closer to it.

"Hello Ianto Jones, I can see you. So come closer, we have a little time before the others get here. Sean is keeping you here, yes?" With closer inspection Ianto realized that this creature and Sean had similar features. There was no doubt that Peter was Sean's Da, they looked too much like family not to be. But the almost human being that stood before Ianto could be Sean's sibling or parent. They shared a strong resemblance around the eyes, are remarkable similar mouth and a their body shape was almost identical. Ianto found he was not breathing so well as he realized that more then likely he was talking to a God.

"Yes" He managed to squeak out as he cleared his thought. Manlier and definitely stronger, he stated. "And I'm glad he did. Dead is not much fun!"

To Ianto's surprise the creature shook with laughter so honest that is made the Welshmen smile.

"You rare a case, Mr. Jones, the afterworld, the Eden you have earned is your gift for the unselfish act of helping not only Jack, Sean and the others but saving the world as well. I'm grateful to have met you." To Ianto's surprise the creature bowed.

"You're bowing to me? I really didn't do any thing. I don't understand where you got the impression that I am something." Ianto stood tall with conviction in his denial at what the creature said about him.

"Oh I beg to differ." He looked at Ianto and like the portals that Sean opens, a round one appeared before him much like a flat screen TV hanging on a wall.

It started with young Ianto standing up to his father after the man had hit his sister. He earned a few smacks for stepping out of line, but his sister thanked him by baking him fudge brownies. The next was of him helping an elderly neighbor with yard work refusing any pay for the work. It was followed by a stranger that needed a lift to his house and Ianto getting enough money for the kindness from the rich man to head to London and a way from his family. Seeing the man's face as he opened the letter that Ianto wrote returning every bit of the money was a first. Ianto shed a tear at his life that he no longer had and seemed to be so much more virtuous then he remembered.

The thing next was Lisa, beautiful Lisa taking him in after he lost his apartment, getting him the job with Torchwood and falling in love. The building burning as he dragged her half converted body out of Canary Warf alone. His care of her until he could find a place to bring her and the diligence he showed in trying to cure her. Jack reaching out to help him after her final death and he making his choice with Jack, the next was the selflessness he showed in standing by Jack and the team. His recorded keeping, the way he anchored the whole of Torchwood Three was also noted as those depart friends were bought before him in images.

It bought up his growing love for Jack and the fondness that the men felt for each other in every new day. Fighting along side knowing that one-day he would be just another body in the vaults, a young one at that. But he never left his Captain. Faced with certain death, Ianto's last thought was "Who will take care of Jack? What will happen to him?" Tears dampened his cheeks.

"That's me?" His face looked up to meet the one before him as the portal closed.

"Yes and so much more. You have done your part Mr. Ianto Jones. You may go to the place that Sean has gifted you. Your time is done. Jack will never forget you. No longer a blip in time. But part of time itself."

Ianto smiled as he walked to find Jack to say goodbye.

Ianto stopped as Jack rounded the corner. Pointing his gun down, it didn't take the older man long to realize that Ianto was going.

"Ianto don't go not yet." He begged his once lover for a little more time.

When Ianto shook his head no with obvious regret, Jack replied. "I will not forget you. I love you too much for that. You are never a blip in time to me."

"I always knew that Jack, I just needed to hear it." He pouted as he began to fade. Pointing in the direction he just came, the words left this world and Ianto was gone. "Go that way, he is waiting for you."

"Ianto!"

Gwen caught up to him as he shouted out for his lost lover. "He is gone Gwen, gone for good. Where are the others?" He was quite with his voice a little lost, but he seemed to have a sense of closer.

"Alice found another terminal and she is down loading its contents. Mickey stayed with her. Hey I'm sorry." She was trying to understand, but what could she do except let him know she was there for him.

He felt a presence and glimpse of Sean like image run past him to the direction of where Ianto pointed. He followed it and found the creature lying on the floor. Asking Gwen to stay back he approached as it coughed and fought for breath.

The creature looked up at the ex Time Agent as he stared down at him. "Jack Harkness, I have been waiting for you. I have things to say." He fought to sit up as Jack caught him. He could tell from years of being around it, that death was going to claim another very soon.

Jack held the dieing God in his arms, while the tale was told. He held back the pain he felt radiate off the creature's body and the torment that shed from its soul.

"We are older then the race of man, we are the ones that help the earth grow, change and prosper. I'm the last, but there use to be so many more of us. Mankind thought we were Gods, but most of the time we walked as them. With them next to us, we were able to bring the species to its full capability. Mankind had its physical evolution with in nature, but we helped it mature in its mind. In directly of course, we never interfered with its politics. Mankind was just to hot headed and stubborn to control that way.

We learned along time ago when we landed here, that it was best for creative in diver to allow Mankind to think for its self when it came to its artist soul. The need to create must be instilled in the wake of the Human consciousness. The other reason for this was it would never understand regret when it destroyed things. The rampage would affect the planet. To unleash the true force of Mankind's nature with out the artistic eye would lead to a barren world.

Our kind, control the elements with Time. It was us that tried to heal the world as man destroyed it. With our gifts we molded ideas of those around us, so when something fell, it would be remembered and built upon and made stronger. This could be in a physical sense but it was basically done in the minds of certain key individuals. Your people called them Visionaries. We repaired the damage to the battlefields as best as we could to allow the land to grow once again. But as time went on your kind…"

The beautiful creature paused to give Jack a long look before he continued. For the first time in a long while, Jack blushed under the scrutiny. He smiled at the creature, which seemed to glow at the response.

"You are not really human anymore. You can't die; you will walk to the end of time. Don't consider it a curse, but a blessing. Like Sean, he is the next step in my kind, purposely created to continue our work. His life will be long, and he will walk next to Mankind like we have always done. You love him, that is good!" The Angel in Jack's arms smiled and shined his clear eyes up at the Immortal.

"Yes, I love him, but I hurt him. I have to fix that, I just hope that isn't to late." Jack was in awe of his selfless confession. He was aware that this "God" was looking into his soul. Much the same way that Sean did.

"I wouldn't worry about that Jack Harkness, Sean has a great capacity for love. He will forgive, because it is part of healing. That is his nature, which is why we made him. Simply he heals things. It was Paul that tried to change that. Me working through Paul was a mistake. I never saw the evil that lay in Paul's soul. He like so many others was selfish. He saw a vision that was misleading. He could never let go of his human side long enough. He was jealous of Liam's love for Sean. That shaped too many of his decision. The use of Sean's mother in the breading was a mistake, but we needed the group to help make Sean a possibility. They mislead me into thinking them just. By then I was too weak to fight. I was locked hear and forced into helping them. I knew that Sean would break free. My heart knew it." Eyes smiled passed Jack's face and up to the unknown. The Creature looked pleased.

"That brings me back to the thought I was making." The God convulsed and its body shook as if fought to finish its tale, before it was to late.

"I'm sorry, is there anything I can get you, something for the pain, some water perhaps. I feel so helpless." Tears weld up in Jack's eyes as he watched a great part of creation slip through his fingertips.

"You are doing enough just listening and having the knowledge to share with Sean. That's all I can ask of you. I'm running out of time here, pretty strange for a creature of Time. Something that we should have plenty of considering we manipulate it!" His death laugh was musical. Jack was amazed that death seemed to ease this Creature's mind.

With renewed strength from the Immortal, the creature finished his tale.

"But as time went on, your kind, Mankind, became to bent on destroying. The powers that they invented through the artistic eye we gave them became too much for us. We were not strong enough to keep healing the world as it became more scorched with every centuries increase in destructive forces. Weapons became too much for us. We started to burn ourselves out. As we began our extinction, we felt the need to reproduce. After your World War II it became apparent that we had to do something. But Mankind kept fighting. We were out of time. That is when we approached groups around the world and told them who we were. Most didn't want to believe; religion and politics would stand in the way. Oh and the Human need for power. Those of us that went out to the world of man were captured and tortured and used. We died in captivity. We were no longer able to walk with Mankind, as we did at its beginning. It wasn't long until only a few of us remained. The next decades took all but me; your planet began to fall apart. I couldn't keep up with it, not alone." He paused to collect his thoughts. His chest was heaving as he tried to fill his lungs up with much needed air. Jack's smell was oddly giving him some strength.

"You have so much life in you, I wish I could have just a little to help Sean. At least he will have the machine he is creating to make it better for him. That is something for you to help him with. Your love can do that for him, right?" The God's eyes glazed over for only a moment, but it was enough to frighten Jack.

"No please don't go not yet." Jack rocked the creature as he held him. It was then that a decision was made. He leaned down and like the time he revived Ianto as he lay dead in the water, he kissed life into the creature. It was not the cure but it did help the God feel better.

"Yes much life, good, you are perfect, you know that. It is all going as planned Jack Harkness. Beware the 456 they may not be done with yet. It was our fault; we gave them too much information that is why they came. Remember even those that are Gods make mistakes. Sean will know, he will remember, he will be strong. Find Paul and finish him. Live in love Jack Harkness!" The creature slumped in Jack's loving arms and died.

"NO!! I need more then this, what else, there has to be more!" Jack wailed at the passing of the great creature, the world went dark and cold for an unperceivable moment as the being slipped back to the universe it was born from. Return to the beginning.

Paul, Jack thought, how the hell was he going to find Paul?

Gwen ran to Jack's side as he rocked the creature and sobbed like a child, out of control and desperate. She laid her hand on his back and rubbed in an effort to comfort. Before their eyes the creature faded leaving Jack to grab on to his own arms to replace the life form he had just held. Rocking still he cried until he had nothing left. All the while Gwen still rubbed his back and talk soothingly to him. It was almost like the time they lost Tosh and Owen. She never had the chance to reach out to him with Ianto.

She reached out now. There was so much pain radiating from a single person. How was Jack going to manage getting through eternity carry such a collection sorrow? She suddenly realized that Jack was designed by chance but was made to carry the burden of remembering everyone he met. The vision of the Son of God opening up the darkness that death dwelled in and allowing the souls to transcend into the light was in her mind. Some how she knew Jack had a greater purpose than just to watch the Universe end. Some how he would do a great deed that would help the world see another day. It seemed to be his destiny to save them.

Kneeling down she reached around his middle and wrapped her arms around the sobbing man. He slumped forward allowing the feeling of comfort she offered as he let tears cascade to the floor. There was so much this man did to help yet it always seemed to end with him in tears. It remained very quite for a long moment

"Self destruct in 10 minutes, 9 minutes 59 seconds, 9 minutes 58 seconds…" The mechanical female voice stated.

Jack and Gwen both jumped up.

"They must have rigged the place to destruct if the creature got loose or died."

"Oh we just have a bad sense of timing and it is just coincidence." Jack laughed. "Either one doesn't matter. Lets get the others and Go. Alice and Mickey get out of the place take what you can. We will meet you out front." He spoke into his com link.

Jack looked at the room one last time and pushed Gwen in front of him in a run. Both mentor and student ran as fast as possible and reached outside just as the building exploded.

"Bye Ianto" He said again, "you are will never be a blip in time. Not to me, not ever." To the creature he silently said he would tell Sean all of it. Maybe Paul could fill in the gaps.

**

_Somewhere a group silently cursed their miss fortune in loosing the last of a race that had made them so wealthy and powerful. The prime was still out in the world and there was the little girl and the out of control mad man that Paul was now changing into. _

**

Sean awoke again that morning from a sweat soaked dream with the thoughts of Jack coming home. The over whelming sadness that death brings filled his soul and made him grip his sides with the painful awareness. The voice told him he was strong that he needed not to fear. Human hands could no longer hurt him; with his creation they improved him. He would be safe as Jack was coming back to him.

He didn't believe the last part. Jack was Jack and if he came back it would be because he wished to not because he had to.

End Chapter 31 TBC


	32. Chapter 32

With much reluctance, Jack released his hold on Sean as the wind blew the rain out to the south, taking Sean's tears with it.

"It needs the rain a lot more over there than in the control zone, right here." Came out of Sean's mouth before Jack said anything. Sean moved away to study the reaction of his man.

"Control zone? How far have you gotten with this?" He turned around and pointed to the spot that Hope was now referring to as ground zero.

"Well you are on Ground Zero. And this is the control zone. The machine is run from here." As Sean pointed to the tent, Jack blinked.

"Sean, have I told you how beautiful you are?" He reached for this special someone giving him a lingering kiss. Flaming heat coursed through their bodies and linked the lovers together. If it wasn't broad daylight and they were really alone, Sean was sure they would be at each other without a second thought.

"I see you're not the only one that missed me!" Sean remarked as he felt "little Jack" against his leg.

"Well what can I say? You just do this to me naturally. Sean, can I ask why there are a bunch of people in the garden?" Jack suddenly realized that the area was full of residents of Hope.

"Well, we are doing a test and we need to have samples taken and readings organized." He looked embarrassed for the real question was how did they all get here at once. The field was empty a moment ago.

"Sean, I not going to bite." Jack brought his lover closer to him and asked another question. "Where were they?"

"Africa, we set up a sister garden in Africa. We have been using the portals to travel through. Now, don't you dare look at me like that, Jack Harkness! I have not stepped over any boundaries of time. Yes, I know that is what you are thinking. We have made it safe for travel. Jack this is the way the Earth is heading. Don't you want to know about the second Garden of Eden?"

Jack just stood there blinking at the man before him. He was starting to realize that is would take years to catch up with Sean's mind. Expecting great things from Sean came after his talk with Sean's designer. But the creature never said how far advanced Sean would become. The idea of "portal jumping" was the basic concept for Jack's Vortex Manipulator.

"It is just my love, you keep moving ahead and every day more advanced than the previous day. I understand why this has to be done. I met the one who is responsible for your existence. But there is still so much he didn't tell me. I have no idea where his kind came from, but I do know why they stayed."

Sean tilted his head at Jack and with his hazel eyes asked Jack to tell him all of it. "Jack, it's okay. We will get there, sooner or later we will find out the grand design. But right now, I have this incredible need to be naked with you. Then we can lay in each other arms and just tell each other all that has happen.

Closing his eyes, Jack held his head down and allowed a smile to escape his earlier tight lips. "I'll give you a head start back to the cottage."

"Do you think we will even make it to the cottage?" Sean didn't wait for a response as he bolted ahead of Jack through the clearing away from the confused Hope dwellers.

"I hope they are dressed when the get to the cottage. Isn't Rodger there with Phil and some of the others?"

"I don't think they will make the cottage myself." A woman named Tracy said. She winked at a younger woman and began to tie back her brown hair but it kept falling out of the tie. A bright man named Harry was walking past and saw the dilemma Tracy was in. She blushed as the man approached her.

"Here, let me help!" He took the tie and parting her silky brown hair to the right smoothing it away from her face. Looking at her flushed appearance, he wrapped the tie around her head and tied it at the base of her neck. He then reached down and picked one of the many flowers of Eden, a blue bachelor button and tucked it in the ribbon over her left ear.

He smiled at her crimson cheeks and said. "There that will make you more comfortable in the sun. Sean should really control the temperature a little more, it suddenly became very hot."

"Yes," she shyly spoke but something in his blue eyes made her speak up. "After we get these samples, do you want to have lunch with me?"

"I was just going to ask you that. Sure! That would great. Now let's hope I don't try rushing these finding. Then I can have the afternoon off." He winked and it made Tracy giggle.

"I do as well. I am supposed to look at the pasture by Ralph's place for another phase for Eden. Do you want to come with me?" Her face warmed with Harry's smile and she gave him a nod of the head. "Well then, we better hurry and finish."

"We shouldn't rush our work, Tracy. We will have all the time in the world after we are done." He glanced at her beauty and turned his blushing face back to his work.

Silently she thanked her father for pushing her into a career in botany. Not only for it finding her a place in Hope but a spot on the New Eden team. And now she had a place in Harry Vandermay's heart.

Hot sweat covered the lovers wrapped in each other's arms. Their reunion was sweet and tender. Each taking time to rediscover the other's special pleasure spots while allowing the feelings of love to grow again. Both men surrounded by their own private pain reached for the other for relief.

Sean returned to nursing on the spot in the middle of Jack's chest, as soon as they were done. Rubbing Sean's back, Jack chuckled deeply and smiling kissed the top of his man's head.

"Angel, what is so great about that spot? You seem to make it a part of our afterglow."

"I don't know. You scent has taste here." He went right back at it.

Jack eyes went wide. "What does that mean? My scent has taste?"

Sean chuckled as he stopped. Resting his hands on the spot, he propped his head up on Jack's chest to look into the sky blue eyes peering down at him and thanking the universe for giving him his life back. "Yes, I can taste you there and it is very addictive. I have no other way of stating it." He moved a little bit further within inches of Jack's mouth.

Jack hitched his breath as the familiar heat traveled all through him. He played with Sean's hair as he kissed his Angel. Sean moved himself up; placing his hands on Jack's shoulders for support and without much effort they were lost in the moment again.

Paul was yelling at little Tina as she refused to hurt another animal.

"I won't do it, I won't!" The ground began to quake with her rage.

The shelf fell and almost took out Paul. He jumped through a portal to the other side of the room next to the crying girl.

Smack went his hand across the shocked child as she began to wail. Rubbing her cheek, she went wide-eyed as a second slap went across the other side of her little dark face.

"You will do it, or I will keep hurting you. And the pain from that slap was nothing compared to the pain I can truly give you." His face was full of rage as his hand went up for a third slap.

It never made contact. The door was blown off its hinges and several well-armed people entered the makeshift lab.

"We're with Torchwood. Surrender the girl and come with us quietly. We mean you no harm." Gwen spoke as the smoke cleared.

"No harm. I wouldn't say that if I would you. Because I would harm you." Within seconds Gwen was on the ground choking and rolling back and forth as she fought to get air into her lungs.

Rhys' panicked "Shit!" was loud as he went to his wife's side and tried to stop the death thrash she began heading towards.

Paul's mad man laugh echoed as if it was caught in time. It was neither here nor there but all over the room. "You are all fools!" He went to grab the girl as he opened an escape route.

"NO!" The little girl said as she bit the offending man's arm.

Screaming and cursing, Paul went to hit the girl. But she was fast. As the Portal opened, she pushed with all her might and sent her abuser away. The turmoil in the room stopped, as did Gwen's heart.

Andy and Martha were there within moments. Gwen was already cold as if she had been dead for a while. Rhys was next to her as Martha did her best to bring the dead woman to life.

"Rhys," The doctor said sometime later, "I'm sorry, there is nothing more to be done."

Andy was in tears at the loss of the strongest woman he had ever known and for the lost love that was one sided. Martha held him and tried to comfort Rhys at the same time.

Tina stared at the group and silently approached them. She knelt by the fallen woman and put her hand to Gwen's chest. Gwen sprang up, sucking in the air around her in rapid huffs.

Martha and Rhys went to calm her as the little girl, black hair in braids looked at the joy that she made in the little foursome. Gwen was the first to reach for her when finally she came to her senses.

Enveloping the little girl in her arms she spoke. "Tina, right? You are such a sweetheart. Thank you for my life." She looked into the face of a dark little angel with wondrous blue eyes. She noticed that the little girl smiled up at her and for a brief moment both a flash of Sean and the creature Jack held dying in his arms shown in her face.

"Thank you for getting me away from that mad man. I owe you. Besides, I can't let something die. At least not when it was my fault".

"What makes you think it was your fault?" Martha questioned, being concerned that Tina was taking on the blame for Gwen.

"You came here for me. He told me you would."

They all looked at each other puzzled.

"Who said we would come?" Andy asked.

"It was the one who passed into the next world, my guardian angel. He said that you are going to take me to see my brother, Sean."

"Next time, I think we have to make sure the house is clear. Rita said we were half undressed when we fell in to the kitchen. Did you see them?'

Jack was making a fire in the fireplace. He was being quiet since they had come down and got something to eat. Sean noticed that he had withdrawn a little since he went to start the fire.

"Huh, oh no I didn't. We were in a rush to get upstairs. Did they stay long?" He didn't look up as the fire took over the kindling.

The distant sound in Jack's voice hurt Sean. It had to do with Ianto. He knew Jack was feeling guilty. That coming home made it worst because the act took place in the very room that they were standing in. Jack closed his eyes and felt remorse as he brought back every detail of the last 6 hours he was able to touch Ianto.

"Jack don't dwell on us. Sean is in the living world. Love him."

He felt Sean's arms wrap around his back. "I don't deserve this, Sean. I went with him."

Sean smiled into his lover's back. "I know you did. That's why I gave you the time. Did you think I wouldn't know what was happening?" Truth be told, Sean couldn't go back into the cottage until it was aired out. He also asked Rita and Phil to scrub it clean. He just didn't want to be reminded of it. He may have made it possible for these lost souls to be with each other. That didn't mean it didn't rip at his heart.

"We made love right here. I missed him so, but it felt wrong. How could being with him feel wrong?" He sobbed into the fire he had started while Sean rubbed his back.

"It wasn't wrong Sweetness, it was right. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't know it was the right thing to do. Ianto loves you so much. Yes I say loves, for he isn't really dead, not like what you have been led to believe. The man that is Ianto is waiting somewhere else with Liam and Elaine and a version of you. There is more to the end than darkness, Jack! I have seen it!" In his frustration with his Immortal love, Sean leaned in resting his head on Jack's shirtless back. That smell of both their bodies mingling was enough to make Sean's head reel a little.

With barely a whisper and pent up with self-anger for his actions, Jack replied with three simple words, that made Sean blink back tears. "I hurt you."

With escape of the words, Jack turned around, careful not to disturb Sean's place and looked into the sad hollows in the face of the Angel before him. He nodded when he saw his words were true.

"It doesn't mean I don't love you any less, Jack. You came back and you were trying to fix this mess that is my life. You brought me answers and that is by far more than the very plain gesture I gave you." They locked eyes as the truth hit both men.

Giving in to Jack's faults was never something past lovers did. Ianto never questioned Jack, but he did have a jealous streak, and then there was that damn submissive side. It made Ianto seem like a bad puppy in need of a good whack with a rolled up newspaper. Jack never questioned other's actions to his lifestyle. He just always assumed that if they wanted to spend time with him, that it was their problem if they couldn't accept him or if in time they suffered from a broken heart.

Sean eyes were full of this sorrowful love again that had haunted Jack since he leapt head long into Ianto's awaiting embrace. Faint words found their way out of Sean's mouth. "I needed you to go. I needed the time to put the plan in motion. I needed to grow and heal. Jack your leaving, you and Ianto… it was meant for me so I can understand. To fix sorrow, to heal others you a least should understand this, right?"

Jack found the truth of his Angel's words. Sean was not like the others in Jack's life, he understood Jack's troubles. "Leave it to Ianto to play match maker." He smiled as the words left his mouth. As lips found its softer soul mate's, Sean threw his arms around his lover's neck.

The kiss was interrupted with a smoke filled room as the fire took on life. "Shit, I forgot to open the flue!" Turning abruptly, which made Sean almost lose his balance, Jack reached to crank it open and with its release, the room lost its smoke screen.

"I thought it was your kiss that made me a little foggy!" Sean laughed as Jack glared at him. "Jack, I love you for what you are, not for what others expect of you. You do what is needed and I will always know we can never part." He smiled as he watched Jack tend the fire.

"I love you as well, and I will spend each day showing you that for a change. It was something watching your creator, Sean. He had such hopes for you and he loved you so much. I wish you could have seen him."

"Oh, I did. He came to Eden for a moment in my dreams. Don't look at me like that! I'm telling the truth. Anyway, before Ianto said goodbye, he said that Torchwood and my Da were arriving with you. Aren't they coming?"

"Truth be told, I just had to see you so I left ahead of them. They called me on the road and said they would be here in the morning. They had a reading on a portal, thanks to Ralph dropping off that detector that one of the many genius bunch of Hope made. Really, you guys think of everything." He reached for his young Angel and caressed his cheek before working his way up to his soft hair. "They are bringing you a surprise."

Before Sean could open his mouth to question, Jack scooped him up and placed him on the couch. The heat from the fire was cold compared to the interaction of two lost souls reunited.

End Chapter 32 TBC


	33. Chapter 33

_The God laid in slumber wrapped around the Immortal one after dreaming of the apocalypse in his hand made world. His lover stirred and mumbled something incoherently and returned to his snoring. The Time God sighed and wondered if he should wake the sleeping God next to him for his own comfort. Instead he held the vision of blood in his head and let it fester like an infected wound. It wasn't long before the young God rose at first light, leaving the warmth of his love, for the cold of the reality of the day._

The flow of thoughts that ran through Sean's brain was as rapid as the flow of Time he challenged by merely existing. He was scared sitting on Rodger's seat by the fire pit on the little hill that over looked Hope. And the wave of passers by, working the hours away in the forming community, was not a very good distraction. He shook his head free of the thoughts more then once that day, returning to the latest design that one of the many creators shoved in his face that day. He was getting a little unnerved over the whole situation. He was worried about how these people really looked at him.

And then there was Jack. The man he left snoring after a very heavy night of sex. In the space between the snoring Sean manage to get in a few winks. Bird Ianto chirped a few wake up notes at the window and rather then disturbing Jack, Sean thought it was best to sneak out and return to the village. Besides he was late for his Meds, Sun Cat yelled at him for his tardiness. She was down right pissed until Sean mentioned his Da was on his way to Hope. She left the son's lecture for talk about the father. In the end Sun Cat was hugging Sean and telling him not to over do.

The treatment today was making him feel funny. It was as if he was beginning to feel no hope with in the confines of his new life. And now he finds out that there is a "sister" of sorts. That was way too much for him to handle. And Paul, somewhere that maniac was running lose. Not a great prospect. Despite Jack's return and their getting reacquainted, Sean was feeling a little vulnerable. After all, Jack and the others failed to contain Paul. It was up to Sean to deal with it. Sean for the most part was clueless on how to go about it.

He didn't want to kill, it would destroy his very being. Paul didn't care about taking a life. Liam, someone Paul loved was dead by his hands. So what is to stop Paul from going after the ones Sean loves? What can Sean do to protect Hope from Paul's long handed death grip?

Children ran passed him in the morning sun, on their way to class. Laughing they paid him no mind as they went about their daily lives. The flash from somewhere inside showed Sean the body counts of Hope if he stayed. Paul's work would out live Sean's if he were not careful. He continued to watch the children, the fear building from his helplessness.

Jack found him and tapped him on the shoulder causing Sean to jump almost dislodging the laptop from of his thighs.

"Hey easy, you were miles away there. Sean didn't you hear me say your name." Jack looked concerned as his young lover seemed to just look past him for a bit.

"I can't protect them Jack. War, famine, Paul, I can't stop what will be. They are not safe with me here. But they would defend me, hide me if need be, and die if necessary. I'm not that important. I'm not what they think." He looked back at the computer screen barley able to focus at the plans before him.

Jack saw something in Sean he was never aware of. Sean was a fighter for the most part. Now he was just full of despair and fear. It seemed that Sean was giving up on himself. Jack for the most part became aware that this was not the man he was with yesterday.

"Hey, they think you are, and so do I. Sean what is this about. Just talk to me."

Shutting down the laptop and closing the lid, Sean stood facing Jack. "There is nothing to talk about since nothing can stop what has begun." Abruptly he turned away form Jack and walked to the road outside of camp. "Don't follow me." He yelled over his shoulder as if he anticipated Jack's reaction.

Almost to tears but more confused, Jack stared at this young lover's flight out of the village. Sean's steps were few, for before he reached the road he vanished.

"Shit!" Jack yelled, frustrated he went to Sun Cat's tent to have a word with the healer. Phil, already there, was discussing something already with her. Jack waited outside for the two to finish. In less then a few hours, the others would be here. Peter would be anxious to see his son. Now Sean was gone and he could be anywhere.

He gave up pacing waiting for Phil to finish with Sun Cat and entered the tent again. Both partakers in the conversation stared at the Captain's rudeness. Sun Cat blinked before stating. "Give me one good reason not to smack you."

"Sean just vanished. He felt if he left the village it would be safer. Please tell me it is the stuff he is on. Because he was very happy last night, now he's so upset and full of fear." Jack pleaded, breath uneven as he hoped that it was just a simple reaction to the treatment. "Help me here guys, I have haven't been around for a bit. I don't know him right now. I mean not the way I should."

Internally he said, 'I should have been here to hold his hand, to help him through this. I just had to do it my way.' Jack's thoughts were trying to wrap his mind around all of it. He was blowing it again. He tried to be a hero, to fix the problem, run in guns blazing so the crowd praised his greatness. Yet let another life slip out of his hands.

Phil came closer to the confused ex leader of Torchwood. "Jack, he is moody, he has visions sometimes, and he has been blaming himself for a lot of things. It is the nightmares that he has had the last month or so. They worry me. If he is connected to time, can his dreams see the future?"

Sun Cat added before Jack answered. "He is happy 90% of the time. He is very stable when he is focused on the tasks at hand. His mind is liquid brilliance, thoughts always looking to make the visions happen. Almost like a machine. I think that the meds I have him on tend to allow too much of the human side to surface. He is at conflict with both halves. Jack, it is as if he becomes two people and then whole again. But if I know him, he didn't go too far. He is in the field. Go to him."

Phil was being a little more protective of Sean now that Jack was back. He was with Sean a lot more during the drunken nights, when Sean would ask if he really deserved someone like Jack. But the look in Jack's eyes spoke his heart. Jack Harkness was in love with Sean and was so worried that something was going to go horribly wrong.

"Jack he is in the far pasture where Elaine's tombstone is. Take a nice slow pace walk there so he has time to work out what ever it is that is bothering him. He will be fine as long as he can be alone for a bit." Phil flashed a hopeful smile at the Immortal one.

Jack nodded feeling like an outsider in the world of the man he loves. He began a slow walk to the field only to be stopped on the road by Ralph's squelching breaks.

"Ralph you almost killed me." He leaned into his friend's window.

"You wish, Harkness! I was just coming to see you. I got a call from Alice. She said they were having problems finding the place. From what I gather they been driving around for hours. Just as they think they are going to find Hope, they winded up in another part of the shire. They go back and the same thing happens again. It seems they pass through the village and the village just isn't there."

Jack rolled his eyes. Now what was going on? " Let me hitch a ride with you up to the pasture. I think I have an idea. Sean mentioned a time barrier around Hope or something. It went on line this morning. Besides Sean is in a mood."

"Back less then twenty-four hours and already you have pissed him off. Wow, makes me remember the good old days when we shacked up." Ralph shooed Jack's hand away from his knee, as Jack made himself comfortable in the seat. "Now none of that Jack!"

" Hey I was just obeying the touch but don't look rule we had. I can remember the important things as well." Jack managed a stressed smile for his friend.

Ralph thought that any smile was better then none, as they sped away to the upper pasture and the Machine.

Sean was rocking back and forth while poised on a rock. He could hear Jack and Elaine giggling off in the distance as he tried to justify why he decided to show up here in the first place. "Please I just want some quite." He closed his eyes and tried to get the blood images out of his head. He thought about pounding his head into a tree to dull the pain. Maybe if he just went back, Sun Cat could kiss this hurt away. Or Jack could ease it in a sexual way. Anything so it would stop, for just a moment. "Nothing but death, nothing but fire and hurt in store for Hope," the new images that started on his way to the Hope this morning intensified. As a small child would, he tightly shut his eyes as if trying to make all the bad go away. Since the images were in his mind, that wasn't helping.

A familiar presence tickled his nose and the touch from a hand made him return to the place on the rock. "Liam?" He spoke his voice was husky with tears.

"Yes sweetheart, I'm here." With Sean's talents, Liam in this world of Sean's creation was real. The young man reached for his dead husband and held on to his solid flesh. Needing it with hungry frighten hands and inhaling this man's scent.

"Oh god Liam, I'm so alone." Sean fell into Liam embrace, cling as he let his frustrations out.

"Hey, none of that now." With a swift stroke of his hand, Liam wiped the hair out of Sean's hazel eyes leaning to kiss his lips.

Lovers now reunited began to explore each other again. Sean was calming his mind and body as Liam cured Sean with his physical touch. Kissing in a world of Sean's creation, the lost souls returned together in the vastness of time. Liam was reluctant to pull away. It wasn't that he didn't want Sean like this. In the long dark hours he waited he thought of nothing else but the happiness presented to him in Sean's arms. But as one stuck in the "realms of the dead" desires to join with living flesh was painful. Sean would return to his place out there, with in the live Earth. Liam as painful as it was removed himself from Sean's hold and with a soft touch to his cheek; he stood again in the cold of separation.

Sean aware of his lapse in judgment stood and faced Liam. "Sorry, but I really need you for a moment. I know we will have eternity, all of us. I made it so." He smiled sunlight over the shades of grey in Liam's face. "The question is how do I keep Jack away from his other self?" He giggled as he heard the all to familiar laugh chasing Elaine around the field.

Liam returned the smile, being happy that Sean was coming to terms with his power again. "I think we will just have lots of ogres when the time comes. Have I thanked you for Ianto? He is a treasure. We have been good for each other. And in time we will all be together. Even I think your Immortal friend as well. That is why, you set this up, so we would all be here for him and you, right Sean? My clever love, how I'm glad I was the one that taught you. At least I saved you from Paul." He was frowning as his light darkened with the next words. " Sean, Paul will find you, but if you find him first, you have to kill him."

The words hit Sean in the face and made him recoil back form Liam a little. "I can't! You know what that will do to me."

The wind blew cold air around the bodies that were once used to warming each other. Sean was seeing the truth that Liam present to him. With gaining courage he asked his late husband the questions he wished he wouldn't hear the answers for.

"Liam, why did you let them continue to reprogram me? Did you want me to kill? Is that it? You wanted me to stay alive and that is how you knew I would, by killing." He paused long enough to watch Liam's face change. The man looked wore out and tired. Sean first thought was maybe the dead slept so they could recover from the pains of life.

Liam reached for Sean and pulled his warmth back to him. "I wanted nothing more then to be with you. It was the only choice I had. Sean, you don't know what the alternatives were. I wouldn't begin to even tell you what they would have done to you." Hugging Sean protectively, Liam claimed another kiss.

It was Sean that broke the kiss and added a few paces of safe distance from Liam. "You could have killed me yourself. Do you know what kind of hell you put me through? I wouldn't change any of our life together. But I can change how I deal with Paul." He smiled at his stunning husband, the man he loved so dear. "Don't worry Liam there is always a back door." The wind picked up as Sean exited Eden to head back to Jack, and then onto find Paul.

"Wait Sean, one more thing." Liam caught Sean attention before he slipped through the portal. "Ianto is out there looking for Paul, he said something about a "mutual friend" that is willing to help. I don't know what it means, but he said he would put Paul's location in the box on the dresser in the cottage. I'm so sorry I ever hurt you." Liam looked towards the shadow in the light from the portal that was Sean.

"Liam it wasn't you who hurt me. You made me whole." His smile unseen by his first love, Sean waved as the portal snapped shut.

Ralph's driving for an older man was very dare devilish. He screeched tires to a halt; dust clouds escaping form the drying road while Jack leapt from the car. Tracy and Harry exited form the tent at the sudden sound of the vehicle. The panic look in Jack's eyes indicated something was wrong.

"Turn off the program, Torchwood is stuck in a time loop!" He panted at them.

"Not as young as you thought, hey Harkness!" Ralph snickered at Jack's huffing.

"No I'm not." He grinned at his friend.

"Shit, sorry!" Harry ran back in the tent. With in moments the Torchwood caravan showed it self and headed for the field and the figure of Jack.

Obviously a little shaken, Gwen stepped out of the halting SUV and simply said. "So is that what it was like for John Hart and you. Five years in a time loop was it? I barely could put up with Rhys for the 4 hours we have been driving around. Not to mention the ride up. He couldn't say no to the beans!"

"Ha, Ha!" Rhys hung his head out the window. "Your no rose bouquet yourself!"

The group laughed as they joined together. Ianto the bird flew overhead, making Jack throw his jacket over his head in self-defense.

"Jack developing an irrational fear of birds, mate?" Ralph questioned looking in the direction of the bird. "Oh Sean has decided to join us as well."

Jack whirled around to see the light fade from the portal leaving Sean in this world again. In a heartbeat, Jack was hugging his lover as the time loop weary travelers watched.

End Chapter 33 TBC


	34. Chapter 34

The camp was a blaze as the people of Hope welcomed Torchwood to their home. The party went on for hours. Food was brought out to the tables that were set up near the massive fire pit along with many recently aged kegs of Phil's wine. Sean just whistled and walked towards his Da after catching the look in Phil's eye. Sean knew that there was not enough in camp of the "properly" aged vintage that Phil preferred, so Sean "aged" it a bit for him. No harm done. It tasted the same. Of course, Phil would debate that with a wine filled Sean later. He smiled at his friend as he joined his Da.

His Da had been a little scared to hold Sean. He stayed back from the group as they greeted Sean up at the pasture. It was a pleasure to be out of the time loop and walking around again. Of course Mickey bee lined to the tent to marvel at the machine responsible. His eyes glowed like a kid in a candy store, asking questions faster than Harry could answer. Rita's appearance a little while later gave the former "tin dog" a lot more questions this time around. Needless to say, Mickey was lost to them for most of the afternoon.

"Where's Ianto Owen?" Jack asked. He had thought that Gwen would have brought the boy with her. It was in Jack's head that they would all stay at Hope now rather then return to Cardiff. After all, the entire Rift was being monitored from there now and if there were problems, getting to Cardiff through the portals was a snap. They could go directly to the new Hub if need. It seems a simple solution.

As Sean informed Jack last night in between other things, Hope was building regular houses and starting a hospital as well. Jack asked if that was a good idea. A hungry Sean that nibbled the answer down his body greeted him.

"Oh, we have a cool little thing that will stop the government from touching this place." He stopped short of Jack's other self and smiled. It was then told Jack of the time loop program and fed on the rest of his meal.

Jack was surprised that he remembered any of the information Sean told him that night. The sex had been that good. He was melting with his lover for most of the night. He was so exhausted otherwise he would have been awake for Sean's rapid nightmares. Sean was very drunk when he finally did explain it to him after the party.

Before that advent happened we had Sean with Jack talking to the Torchwood team as they arrived at the pasture. Sean's Da was just staring at his son as if he was waiting for Sean to set him a blaze for hurting him. Peter hated all his judgment calls right now. That changed when he saw his son smile in his direction.

Sean made his way to his Da and caught him a hug that told Peter that Sean still loved him despite his faltered steps in getting his son to a safer place. The two stood in an endless moment which to those standing around swore that time did stop around the pair.

It was then that Jack made his way to his daughter that stood suspiciously close to Andy. Andy made a hasty retreat. It was there he saw a little dark faced girl peeking out from behind Alice. Looking at the girl he winked, causing the little girl to pull closer to Alice who hugged her tightly back.

"You must be Tina. I'm Alice's Dad, Jack." He held out his hand to the little girl. When she seemed reluctant to take it, he squatted to her height.

Tina squinted her blue eyes at the man, looking up at Alice for conformation that the man did speak the truth. Alice nodded with a smile at the little girl; she gently pushed the little girl towards Jack. Tina frowned a little, reminding Jack a lot of Ianto, before extending her hand to him.

Jack shook it and in his fashion of treating all little girls as princesses, he kissed it causing a small giggle to escape the little girl. With that settled he stood, giving his daughter his full attention. " Hey." He greeted and embraced Alice with all the love in his heart. He was surprised by the sudden words out of her mouth.

"Dad, it's okay, I think we can start from the beginning again, that is if you still want a daughter?" She snuggled deeper into her father's being, feeling him tighten his grip on her.

"Anything for my Kitten. You can have anything." Jack kissed the top of her head.

Gwen didn't let the look go unnoticed in Jack's face. She never saw it in the man before. But it was peaceful. It was as if Jack had found peace and was content, finally. She smiled at the scene as Martha came up next to her.

"He does look different, right? I mean he looks like he is really happy this time. Gwen, I can feel it from this place, there is a whole sense of contentment. Like time is happy here. Does that seem strange to you?"

"You're a nutter, Martha, you know that right?" Gwen smiled at her friend. She watched Rhys take Andy to the field, in awe of the plants. Her life mixing with many other's made these two revivals for her affections, friends. She breathed in the air, clean and crisp, as if the world was new here, and realized that this place had the chance for new beginnings.

"I wonder what The Doctor would make of all this? I mean would he be infatuated with it or would he want it shut down?" Martha looked at Gwen for a moment then returned her gaze to Jack.

"Maybe we shouldn't mention it to him, if he comes for a visit." Gwen joked.

Sean was also watching his lover as he talked and laughed with his daughter. Sean didn't miss the comment of, "you can have anything". Sean suddenly had a really brilliant idea.

"Hey what's with the Cheshire cat impersonation, Sean?" His Da asked.

"I'll tell you later, Da." He promised as he went to Jack. The little girl piqued his interest as the word sister formed in his head. He suddenly realized that he would have to deal with Paul for her sake as well.

The little dark angel with the piercing blue eyes stared at the approaching man with awe. She looked up at him with respect as he leaned in, stealing a quick kiss from Jack and a peck on the cheek to Alice. She tilted her head while she listened to the adults talk.

"I feel I should know you Alice after all your Dad has told me. I'm glad we have met in person, finally." He smiled at the woman that was close to his age and returned his gaze to the little girl staring at him.

"I'm happy to meet you as well. Tina, this is Sean. He is your brother of sorts." Alice watched as the little girl ran to Sean and wrapped her tiny arms around his legs.

"I love you," came the muffled words of a child whose face was buried against Sean's legs. He noticed that his pants leg was damp for the little girl was crying. He pried her free, picking her up, he held her tight in his arms.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe now. You're with family. I promise you will never see Paul again." A momentary flash of blood filled his head as he held Tina a little tighter. He was the one that was scared now. Scared for all of them.

Sean put the little girl down and held her hand. Alice remained close to Jack but glance once in the direction of the garden where Andy had walked off with Rhys.

"If you like him, it's okay with your old man." Jack grinned at his daughter's blushing cheeks.

"Dad, it isn't what you think." She heard the lack of conviction in her voice and realized that Jack wouldn't buy her words.

He merely smiled and returned to Sean. Showing affection was something Jack never did in public, Sean broke him of that. He put his arm around Sean's shoulder.

Gwen smiled at him and he caught it, making a face at her. She giggled at her ex-boss sticking her tongue out at him.

Just then Ralph cleared his throat to make an announcement. "Okay everyone, there are people waiting to meet you down in Hope. So I suggest we get going before they become upset. Or drink all the wine before we get there!"

Rhys hearing the word wine ran up with Andy in tow. "Well what are we lurking here for? Let's get moving, then." He ran to the car.

Harry poked his head out of the tent. "I told them that our guests have arrived and the bonfire is already going. I'll stay up here. Rita and Mickey are talking so they are going to remain as well. I'll join you as soon as Tracy gets back." He blushed as he thought of Tracy.

Ianto the bird chirped as he swooped low over the group and headed for the camp.

Jack snaked his arm around Sean's middle, making sure Sean was aware of exactly how he felt. Pulling him into tight hold, he whispered. "Take me to the camp in a portal. I want to know what it's like."

"You've traveled through time before, secret time agent man. Really, this is nothing new for you." He turned his soft face up to look at his lover.

"But it wasn't with you." Jack kissed Sean with such passion that Sean was breathless.

"Well, how can I say no to that?" He opened up a portal, allowing Jack and him to slip away.

"Figures, they just can't keep their hands off of each other." Ralph laughed. "Come on you weary lot, let's take the old fashion way back to camp. Everyone in a car and let's ride." Taking Tina's hand, he took the group into Hope.

"Where are we?" Jack asked Sean who was preoccupied undoing Jack's buttons.

"In between time. I thought we could have a little 'dessert' before lunch." He blew kisses on Jack's now exposed stomach. "Why did you go back to the Captain Jack Harkness look? It is much harder to get you naked like this." Sean licked the exposed flesh by the top of Jack's waistband.

Jack's opened mouth puffed out air with a low groan. He pulled up Sean's head and stared in to his eyes. "Sean we have guest at the camp, we don't have time to play around."

Eyes singing the songs of his heart, Sean looked at his lover. "We have all the time in the universe right here and now, love me Jack, just love me, while we have eternity."

Jack held back the sting of tears as he warmly kissed the Time God before him.

Jack suddenly knew exactly where they were, the beginning of time. And it was a great place to begin again. And that is exactly what they did. Under the newly forming trees, on the soft baby grass, in the warmth of a new sun, two gods met in the act of making love, bonding together in the eyes of time itself.

Jack found himself watching Sean all the rest of the day and well into the evening as the party went into full force. The young man once again was the center as they danced around the fire. Everyone loved Sean. Jack knew all too well how that felt.

Helen joined them some time ago. Jack was sitting with Ralph, Rodger and her up on the Rodger's hill as Phil and Rita started to call it. Sean was down a little ways dancing with Alice. Andy looking at the pair was trying not to look hurt as he watched them. Many village girls tried to persuade him to dance but smiling he politely he refused. Jack was watching the young man with a snicker.

Gwen sitting across from Jack looked at the Immortal. "Why don't you just tell Andy that you don't mind if he fancies your daughter? He is a gentleman Jack, not some sex fiend." She threw a piece of bread at him.

"Hey there, no food tossing. I'm old fashioned. He should come to me for permission. Besides, I like watching him squirm."

"Jack Harkness, you're a big jerk! That is so not fair. He is in love with her. And you above all should not deny them happiness." Helen was livid.

Jack blinked at her sudden outburst. "Okay, I'll talk to him. Just don't shriek like that again. My ears are very sensitive." The comment earned him several pieces of bread tossed at him. He ducked as they fired at him. Standing up, he brushed the crumbs off of himself. He looked at Sean and smiled. "Now if you will excuse me, there is a very cute young man that I would like to dance with." He smirked as he made his way to Sean.

"So you love my Dad?" Alice asked very innocently.

"He has that way about him. It just kind of happened that way. Falling in love with him that is. Alice, he is a unique person, he is capable of many things, but he lacks inner trust. He beats himself up far too much for the decisions he makes. Steven and what happened with the 456 broke him. He is just starting to fix himself. Please, I only ask one thing. Please love him as he loves you." Sean gazed into the woman's eyes and smiled.

"Of course, it is just that I miss my son." She sadly returned a smile to Sean.

She felt a sudden twinge inside. Suddenly the world seemed to glow for the briefest of moments and then it returned to the commotion of the party. Alice looked at Sean.

"That is my gift to you." He said to her confused face. "Alice, I'm giving Steven back to you. This time you can watch him grow up."

Alice stared at Sean as if the hand of God touched her. Her eyes welled with tears as it hit home just what had happened. "How, I mean, is it possible?" She shook her head at the young man.

"Yes, and he will be Steven in appearance. But he will not have the same environmental experiences. My gift to you, for your father's sake." He wrapped his arms around the frightened woman to comfort her.

As they danced she felt the happiness of an expectant mother, warming to the fact of having a baby again. Sean was singing in her ear with the music. She glanced around at the people of Hope; this was the place that she would raise her son. She snuggled into Sean and said. "Thank you so much, and thank you for loving my Dad. He is a new man because of you. Thank you for this chance to have a child again, to see my Steven again."

"I owe him. I'm a new man as well because of Jack. For now, lets keep the baby a secret between us. Okay?"

She nodded as she fell into the dance with the Angel who gave her the best gift ever.

**

As he made his way towards Sean, Jack made sure he bumped into Andy. He grabbed the young man and danced his screaming partner over to his daughter and Sean. Pushing Andy at Alice and retrieving Sean into his arms, Jack said. "You have my permission to be happy with each other. Date or whatever, just be good for each other."

Their shocked faces stared at Jack as he danced away with Sean.

"Well you heard him, Andrew, lets be happy." Alice gave Andy a soft kiss on the lips. They fell into each other's arms and began to sway back and forth to the music of Hope.

"You're smiling loudly," Sean said as he nuzzled kisses into Jack's neck.

"Stop it, you're getting me excited." Jack stuck his hand down the back of Sean's pants.

"Who are you kidding, you were born excited!" Sean bit Jack's ear, causing the immortal to pull him closer.

"You feel that?" Jack whispered to Sean.

"Uh huh." Sean kept nibbling.

"Um, there is this place I always wanted to be intimate with someone, but I never got the chance to travel there. Um, Peru is for lovers, right?" Jack moved his hand further down the back of Sean's pants resting on the top of the right cheek.

"Yeah, sure if you say so…" Sean said dreamily as he opened a portal and danced Jack and himself through it.

End Chapter 36 TBC


	35. Chapter 35

_History of the Gods:_

When the world was new the Gods walked freely, tall and proud. They wandered around the Great Planet Earth searching for bits of things to fix. In groups they wandered to see all that was and loving this place they made their home. Plants bloomed where they walked as they loved each other and the creatures they shared this life filled the world. Eden, the natives called.

It wasn't a serpent that chased the children out. It wasn't a woman with an apple either. It was Mankind's need to be like the Gods. Which isn't a bad thing. It is just the way that Mankind went about it. It's need to destroy all the beauty around it in order to achieve its fake godhood. Mankind also never took into consideration what it would do to the Earth in the long run. The weight alone of the population was enough to hurt a delicate balance between Earth and the others that lived in Maat. It was in this Egyptian concept of truth, balance, law, morality and justice that the Gods created a goddess that regulated the stars and seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities. It was She that gave order to the universe from the chaos at the moment of creation. The universe to the Gods, which is the Planet Earth they were on. The chaos was that very same planet's inhabitants at birth. Mankind was the most lost because its kind possessed creative energy and the need to express it and move forward, no matter what.

They began showing signs of vanity, to build monuments to themselves as the image of false gods. They worshipped in blood all over the planet that was once at peace. Then they killed those who didn't worship the same way they did. All in the name of the Gods this was done. The Gods knew this had to be stopped. All they did was bring the much need weather to help with Mankind's growth. The price was Mankind just not seeing what was being done for them, putting the credit on to a made up idea and then using it to destroy their own neighbors. It was sin that was created as well. Sin was in their own arrogance and blindness to how far they wandered away from the truth. Taking a path that would lead them to death, the Gods couldn't watch Mankind hurt each other so they left the hubs of Mankind's cities and went to the places where man was still innocent. There they remained until the winds turned and the breeze of corruption that showed in awaking of Mankind's mind appeared and the Gods would take their gifts and leave.

The Great Planet Earth began to pay the price for Mankind's corruption.

The Gods would weep and hide from places of the world for time without end. Not allowing the warmth of spring to grow plants or the rains to fall for the crops. But Mankind still stayed in those places, despite the Gods not returning. They seemed to take the harshness of lands and still call them home. Raising families, living within communities, forming languages and customs. This was the way with Mankind. Maat now lost they made their own laws and truths and killed their own to bring the gods back.

The Gods saw this and started to wonder about the inhabitants that they shared this Planet Earth with. So in sadness, they saw great suffering with starvation and diseases from the peoples' lack of control, and returned to Mankind but stayed hidden. So they went out to the places that they had abandoned, giving them special gifts for their needs. Floods to fix the land that was damaged by over work or harsh conditions. Volcanoes that put nutrients back into the earth so in years it could grow the much needed plant life to give oxygen to the creature of this blue green world. Species animal control was designed so only the strong will survive and grow allowing new generations to be healthier. This way in time only the best traits will be in the creatures that walk on "Mother Earth".

Famine was another gift, as was pestilence. The perfection of the planet was a must to these Gods. And sometimes things must die so others must live. That is the Universal law that to break that truth means disaster. The problem was once again in Mankind. They didn't not want death to hold them back, deciding some how in a twist of fait that their kind should be in charge and what happen to the rest of life on Planet Earth was meaningless. So they took the Gods and made themselves in their image, and allowed their way to prevail. This time it was for profit, and so the wonderful Planet Earth began to gasp for life as it began its slow but sure journey towards death. Aliens aside, Earth began to decay long before the Cybermen or the Daleks even were a household name.

The Gods in their sorrow sought out those that could save the planet. They were killed until their numbers dwindled. When few remained, the damage to Earth was great. So in the end they took the few left and explained their true selves to powerful people in charge of Planet Earth. They were captured and used and the last full blooded one died in the arms of Captain Jack Harkness.

Log entry: 5231

Author: Jack Harkness.

Date: 2016

17 more years to go…

Alice danced under a clear night sky near a bonfire that was really growing bigger every hour, in the arms of Andy. The residents of Hope were very full of celebration and having put most of the younger children to bed, the party was getting very randy. Many of the couples were now slow dancing. She noticed Phil and Rita, Peter and Sun Cat. Harry and Tracy. And Sid and Nathan two of the others that work with Sean on the machine. The hundreds of other that she saw were just as happy and drunk as the ones she knew by name and face. As much as she wanted to, she just had a little bit of wine after Sean's news about her condition, which made Andy a little nervous.

Alice was no schoolgirl, she knew full well why Andy would want her drunk or a little tipsy. He was a nervous wreck that he was holding a woman in his arms that he has been crushing on for months now. Alice let the giggle slip.

"Is there a joke you want to share?" He asked, looking into her eyes. It was the first thing he had said to her since they were thrown together about an hour ago. The warmth of the two of them together was almost hypnotic as they swayed back in forth just enjoying the motion.

"I was thinking how determined my dad looked when he threw you at me. I think he likes you."

"I used to find him annoying; all 'puffed up' like a bull on the prowl." Andy let the wine talk. He was not so nervous now. He pulled a way from Alice to look in her eyes with out stopping the dance. "He would walk into a place, a crime scene say, and he would just assume we cared that he was there. He would tell us what to do, clear all of us away. They would do that Torchwood hocus pocus stuff and then walk out after tampering with the evidence. We never solved any of the crimes they left us with and they were no help with easing any of the pain with the loved ones that lost people. Only Gwen, she has a great heart, bless her.

"But one day, your dad - he changed. There was an old woman that lost her son, the only flesh and blood she had to a weevil attack. And something clicked with the two. He stayed with her for a bit. A few days later, I went back to see if the woman needed anything, and there was Jack. He had his greatcoat off, sleeves rolled up and he was fixing some loose pieces of siding on the house. Ianto was with him painting the trim on the door they must of just replaced and she was feeding them lunch. I felt out of place as I watched the scene for some time before I left. I was sensing that the Captain knew he was being watched. I never saw him as being all 'puffed up' after that, just saw him as a man." He stole a kiss from Alice who melted into it without hesitation.

Should she tell him that she was carrying a child and for all intent and purposes it was an immaculate conception?

She shook the thought out of her head, right now for this moment she wanted to be a woman with a man interested in her. She didn't need to have Andy run off screaming into the night. There would be a proper time and place to explain it.

"Well since you like his daughter, it is a good thing you can see that. At least I will not have to decide where to be for the holidays." She grinned just like her father at him. There was a Harkness charm about her, but she was more subdued about it.

Andy took her into a proper kiss. There and then he fell in love with the Captain's daughter. He held her tight as they danced to the music, the world a blur around them for they were now the center of their own universe.

Only Rodger sat up above the camp. He didn't mind being alone as he happily watched his achievement dance their fears and cares away. The smell of pine mixed with meats and cooking food found his way up to him. He was indeed lucky to be here and lucky to be alive.

Sean broke into his thoughts with a joke. "The wall flower club doesn't become you. Do you want to dance with me?" He batted his eyelashes at the older man. Rodger held out his hand and pulled Sean down next to him.

"If I was a younger man, Jack would have competition. But I'm far too old my friend to think of you like that." He leaned in giving Sean a friendly kiss on his cheek. "Where is your Captain Handsome anyway?" His eyes sparkled at the joke.

"Rodger, please, I asked all of you not to call him that. He might take it the wrong way. I was drunk and it was very late. Besides, Phil started it." He protested his innocence to Rodger who started to laugh so hard he began to cough.

"Oh no, you don't! You called him that. And then you did that routine. Sean, please, it was funny. I swear my lips are sealed. But you should tell him, he will laugh, especially with that part where you…"

"Hey, can you tell me why some woman called me Captain Handsome and started a chain reaction of laughter in the Blackjack tent?" Jack stood over them looking the seated pair with his hands on his hips.

Sean's eyes went wide as he looked at Jack looming above him with Rodger equally bug eyed. Blinking again at the irate Immortal, Sean and Rodger laughed themselves off the rock they were sitting on. They began to choke and gasp for air as the laughter became worse.

In the end Sean replied with a straight face, tears in his eyes. "No, I don't know why." Innocence lost, along with his composer, he began to laugh again, right along with his partner in crime, Rodger.

"Just as I thought, well I'll get it out of you later young man." Jack waggled a finger at Sean and marched away to the wine tent.

Giggling still. "Do you think he is mad?" Sean gasped out.

"No, I think he is horny, he was waiting for you to follow." Rodger looked at his friend. "Go to him, I'll be fine." He smiled as the young man gave him a deeper kiss.

"We'll be back later." Sean ran to the tent as Rodger sat back up on the rock, once again alone and thinking.

"I didn't lose her Rhys, she was right here in front of us. Tina, come on sweetie, it is getting late. Sean wants us to take you to the cottage. We walked all the way up here? Didn't seem that long." Gwen couldn't believe she was up by the pasture near the tent. It was very quiet save for the evening crickets and their light breathing caused by their walk from the village.

"Well at least we're closer to the cottage. Let's go see how Mickey is doing. The food we brought him is getting cold. I hope he isn't upset about missing the party." Rhys took Gwen's hand as they moved to the tent.

The sound of a little girl giggling was heard at its opening. Peaking in, the Williams' saw Tina on Mickey's lap as he was showing her the things the machine did. She tugged at his shirt signaling Gwen and Rhys' arrival into the tent.

"There you are Tina, it's late sweetie! It is time for bed." She looked at the little girl who was covering her giggles. Mickey joined her.

"Gwen, I don't want you to take this the wrong way. I should have check with Sean before letting her hang out here. But she reminds me of my cousin, I had a hard time saying no." Mickey stopped for a breath, as Gwen felt as confused as Rhys looked by the statement the tech genius just made.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rhys said. "Is there something we are growing to smoke around here?" Rhys huffed at Mickey who was looking utterly defeated.

"Um… I let her open a portal by herself. That is why you got up here so fast. She opened her own to scare you by jumping out of the bushes when you got up here. She saw the tent and came in. I already knew that a portal opened and thought it was Sean with Jack. They were by earlier."

"You let a little girl open a portal? When Sean finds out about this, he is going to…" She stopped her rage as Tina ran to her and hugged her.

"I'll tell him Auntie Gwen, but I'm sure he knows." She held on tight to Gwen.

"She a little con artist she is, all cute and innocent. Now do you see what I was up against?" Mickey pleaded his case.

"It is hard to say no to the little Angel, Auntie Gwen." Rhys stuck his tongue out at his wife as she made a crinkled nose at him.

"Oh right no harm done. Why don't we stay a bit while Uncle Mickey tells us how this machine works?"

Mickey was wolfing down his food as Gwen spoke. Still chewing he started the class on the Machine.

"You're going to tell me, or the tickling will never stop." Jack warned as he pinned Sean to the ground. His lover squirmed around in the most adorable way. Sean's face was flushed with too much wine and he was almost wiggled out of his shirt that exposed his tickle- able chest to Jack.

"Never, I would rather you torture me before I give up my friends and the great secret." He vowed while locking eyes with the master torturer he smugly stated his stance.

"Oh, I will torture you, I will make you scream for me to not stop before this session is done, my young doctor. What do you say to that?" Jack ground his hips into Sean's groin as he pinned Sean's arms over his head.

"Oh, I say… well… I say bring it on, old man. I can handle anything you do to me." He pushed up into Jack's body, causing him to momentarily lose balance.

"Well, when you resist like that I have no choice then to kiss you right…" Jack stopped when he noticed that Sean was look blankly ahead. It was just an instant but it was enough to scare Jack off of his lover and help him to a seated position. "Hey you alright?"

Sean nodded not knowing where to begin. Like the other ones and the nightmares, this vision left him with more haunting images. "How do I say this without scaring you? I don't want you to become all protective of me. I can take care of myself. Jack, I think I have been seeing the potential future of Hope and the world. If I don't stop Paul, these images will come to be." He looked at Jack trying to see how far Jack got past the I can take care of myself.

Jack sat down cross-legged in front of Sean and grabbed for both his hands. They were soft, a softness that he was beginning to love on Sean's whole body. The owner of the hands was also something he would not want to be without. But he knew that everything came with a price tag. All the bits of happiness seemed to require truckloads of sorrow. He rubbed the hands of his personal miracle while trying to choose his words wisely.

"Tell me your visions. Let me see if I can help you find the right path to choose. Then I will tell you of the Gods that made you. But don't run without thinking this time. I want you to have a plan before you go up against Paul." He lifted those soft hands to his lips savoring each kiss and pulled the young man into his arms.

The warmth from the wine and wrapped in love from this Immortal man, Sean told Jack his visions.

"Fire is the only strong point. I think Paul uses that to start the panic that causes everyone to flee. He doesn't let them go. The tents catch fast; there are lots of explosions. And the screaming that seemed very strong last night more so then other nights. The world begins to decay; the smell poisoned the air with the plant life dying, as the Earth becomes uninhabitable. Small children and the weaker in health begin to die. The fire still rages as flames touch and bite at the dry plant life, it spreads rapidly. Precious water from streams and lakes are pumped out and wasted but the fire can't be stopped. The people cry and sing waiting for the rain. The rain never comes. Paul laughs at the world as it begins to burn hotter. The oceans turn to steam and the vapor spreads, cooking the ocean life and melting even the coldest of regions. The floods happen then as if to put out the fire but killing most of the life on the planet. This all happens within twenty years. There is nothing and no one to stop him. Then the others come." Sean returns from his story to Jack. He buries himself deep into the man's strong hold, searching for Jack's smell in comfort.

"You don't know if that is going to happen, finding Paul may bring this about." Jack held him closer. His thoughts raced trying to figure out who the others were. Jack knew how Sean would answer before he spoke it.

"You know as much as I do that if I don't go we will never know. We still have time. I don't even know where Paul is. I know this for certain. If I stay here, Hope is lost, Jack. As is Planet Earth."

"Then we wait, and we see what happens. Right now I just want to hold you and watch the sky and tell you of the stars and the Gods that helped create you."

Jack turned Sean's head seeking to kiss away the sadness for a bit. He settled the young man and himself against a rock and told Sean a Gods Tale.

End Chapter 35 TBC


	36. Chapter 36

The Village of Hope fell silent as the party began to end. Many were still around the fire pit. Most of the ones that coupled off were gone into the shadows or the tents for the rest of the night. The place was just a lower fire pit in the center with a few quiet residents still drinking and talking together.

Sean and Jack walked arms around waists to the small group by the fire. It was Paula that noticed the new arrivals to the dwindling fire and raised her bottle to them.

"Well I thought you two would be "off" for the night. Every time I saw you guys, your hands were doing something to each other. What, is the honeymoon over?" She chuckled but lost the bottle to Sean before it reached her lips.

"Sharing is good!" He said as he downed the rest of the bottle. Paula just stared up at him before she lost control and began to laugh.

"Now you can get that skinny butt over to the wine tent and get us some more." She demanded. He stared at her. "You heard me, move!"

And with a grin he did, leaving Jack to fend for himself. He watched the group just sitting around talking in drunken humor and wondered what he should say. Paula in her wisdom invited him to sit next to her. He smiled and joined her, leaning back on the log.

"The ground is warm tonight." He tried to start a dialog with the woman.

"Yeah and birds fly. Jack, you can do better than that. Why are you acting so shy, or is awkward the term? Despite what your scrawny ass lover may say about us, we don't bite." She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. With the wine talking she told Jack, "I have such a crush on him. He only has eyes for you. What must that be like, Jack, to have those eyes in their hazel finery, looking at you?" She stirred slightly with a sigh.

Jack smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "He is like the sun, warm, recharging the soul. His eyes when they look at me make me feel free and not alone. I'm glad he looks at me. I hope they always look at me the way they do. Paula, he is first of all a friend. I'm sorry I wish I could be more of a comfort to you. It is just I feel a little awkward talking to you about this. He will love the way he wants. It is the way of all things. To love in the direction we have been led. He loves you; he loves everyone; that is his nature. It took me time to see that. I have never been around love in its pure form before." He hugged a little before continuing.

"Sean, well, he put me on a different path. For once, I believe in something. I'm not just wandering around on aimless roads and dead ends. I have a purpose and I have someone who loves who I am. Ianto saw some of me, but with Sean, he sees all of me. That is what it is like when those eyes in 'hazel finery' look at me. They see me in my naked truth." He kissed her forehead and she cuddled in closer.

"Well if he is going to love someone other than me, at least he has taste. You are a keeper, Jack." She raised her head and kissed him on his lips.

It was then that a throat clearing was heard and they looked up to see Sean with three bottles of wine, his father and Sun Cat. "Do you want me to get you two a room?" He joked at his lover and one of his best friends huddled together in what could be considered more than friendship. He sat down next to Paula and handed her a bottle, which she passed to Jack, and then another for her. He took a long swig of the one he kept.

"Easy Sean, the last time you got drunk you started to sing." One of the log sitters laughed. "Oh please, I don't want to hear that song again."

"Terence, I think that won't happen, you know who is here." He glanced at Jack and winked.

"Oh is this more of the Captain Handsome story? Drink up if this is the only way to get it out of you." Jack smirked at Sean's embarrassment.

"Sorry, all future performances of Captain Handsome were closed due to bad taste." Sean whistled as he snuggled closer to Paula and glanced up at the stars.

He started to think of the places that Jack told him about. Afterwards they made love under those stars filled with more tales than even Jack had. It was a comfort, almost a relief to feel this connection to the universe. He was thankful for all that it had been given him because of the ones that loved him. His Da being one of those people who gave him the most of all with a chance at life.

"Sean, are you going to show me around tomorrow son? Or are you busy?" His Da took a seat next to his boy followed by Sun Cat who looped arms and hands with Peter. It was very loving the way they were so close to each other. 'A misfit family found in the chaos of humanity' the words formed inside Sean's head.

"Da, I'm never too busy for you. We will bring Tina with us. Maybe put together a picnic by the stream, make it a day for all of us to have fun. Paula, why don't you join us? After all, what fun would it be without my best friend and sister?" He kissed her cheek. She snuggled deeper between the two men.

"I guess I could dump my workload on to Phil! No thanks, but I really have a lot to do. Some other time." She wiggled out from the warmth of the handsome men and sighed as she stood. With her bottle of wine in hand, she spoke. "Night all, I'm wrecked. See you in the morning, well in a few hours." She laughed as she began to head to her tent.

"Friend and sister!!! Really Sean, she is in love with you! You could have been a little less heartless." Sun Cat reached over Peter and lightly tapped Sean's shoulder.

"I know, but what do you want me to do? It was my fault; I may have led her on. But by that logic, Phil should be in love with me as well." Sean looked from Sun Cat to his Da and stopped at Jack. "What?" As he saw the confused looks on everyone's face.

"Exactly what did you do while I was gone?" Jack raised an eyebrow at Sean.

He chuckled a little before he responded. "Oh wouldn't you like to know?" Jack pounced on him and began to tickle him again.

"You my young sir, are a Class A brat. Confess your sins now or it will get worse." Jack had Sean choking, he was laughing so hard.

Peter and Sun Cat moved over a bit. Sean begged them to help as Jack assaulted him with tickle attacks.

"No son, you made this bed now in my wisdom I will tell you to lie in it." His Da stood and help up Sun Cat. Standing there over the giggling form of his son he patted Jack on the back. "It is late and I would like a little private tour of this camp, so I'm saying goodnight, and yes you can find me with Sun Cat. Sean, stop being a brat and tell him. Sweet dreams Jack, don't let my son torment you so. Class A Brat, it fits." The couple left.

"Wait Da, help… What do you mean with Sun Cat… Jack stop… I only cried my heart out to them… I missed you so…" He collapsed in a coughing fit as the tickling stopped.

"I missed you as well." He smoothed back Sean's hair out of his eyes as he kissed the breath back into his beautiful lover. "Let's head back. We left Gwen and Rhys with Tina too long. Besides I want to cuddle with you." He took Sean's breath away this time with the kiss. "Will there ever be too much of you?" Jack looked at his flushed messed up hair lover and sighed. He stood, bringing Sean with him. Both men straightened their clothes and bid goodnight to the group that was mainly passed out. Sean opened a portal and they stepped through to the cottage.

"Show off." Jack was heard to say as the portal closed.

The cottage was dark except for the light that was in the kitchen. The couple found Rhys reading something on his laptop.

"I thought you gave up the porn sites when you married Gwen," Jack joked. " Anything good?" He walked around to look over Rhys shoulder as Sean got a glass of water.

"Geez, I never thought a schematic could bend like that. Rhys what is that?" Jack frowned when it turned out to be a mechanical drawing.

"That is Sean's machine. This is a marvel. I can't believe it myself. Stop making that face Jack, I'm not an idiot. I know what this does. I can see how it works as well. Sean this is a thing of beauty." He kept his eyes wandering along the screen absorbing all of it and starting again to make sure he didn't miss any of it.

"Jack, it is made so it is understood. I made sure that all could comprehend the design. This machine is for the world."

Jack looked at the drawing and saw what Sean meant. The design was created to be understood by all. "Wouldn't it be easy for someone to steal the idea or corrupt it?" Jack stared at his lover and waited for Sean to answer.

"Jack, try to build it. It won't work, it is understood but it can never be made by anyone but the people of Hope with me behind it. I wish I could explain that better. But it looks like it will work, you see it as working, but you could never get it to work. Ralph tried. I asked him to. We could hear him cursing his frustration all the way to the camp. He came by and wagged his finger at me, of course there was a smile on his face." He tilted his head at Jack.

"Ralph is by far one of the smartest men I know, he has a genius IQ. If he can't do it, I don't know who could. Sean, why let any one see it, then? Why make it so easy to understand?"

Sean took a sip of water and thought on the answer. He had a motive for it, but would Jack understand? He stared at the Immortal in front of him and smiled. It came out as simple as the appearance of the workings of the machine. "Because I want all to see the truth. I don't want to hide it, once they enter this place. Jack, we don't have secrets here, we trust. If you come to live in Hope, you have that given to you." He took another swig from the glass and smiled.

"What if some one breaks the trust? What will Hope do?" It was a question that needed to be brought to light. So far there had been no betrayal. But Mankind, the way the species worked, it was a give and take system. Sometimes more take than anything. This was the truth of Mankind. The stronger preyed on the weak, a universal truth as correct as physics and math.

Rhys was intently staring at Sean as he awaited the answer to the debated question that Jack had started. Jack for the most part was curious as to how far his lover had thought all this out. Sean seemed to be led by instinct so far. From what Jack learned from his moments with Sean's benefactor, the race was intelligent. Was Sean able to put the two together?

"I guess some form of punishment. Those who come to Hope are led here, Jack. They won't know that is exists unless it calls to them. Those that come here should know the truth. If they chose to pervert it, then I suppose they will be punished. That bridge has not been crossed. So I don't have an exact answer. I'm sorry." He took another sip from the glass and returned to the sink.

Rhys looked at Jack, who for some reason seemed lost in Sean's words. The great man in his greatcoat just looked at the younger man in wonder. The softness of his smile indicated that he was pleased.

"Let's hope you never have to cross that bridge." His face seemed relieved.

The kitchen door swung open as Tina ran into the room and grabbed Sean around the legs. She was crying as he picked her up.

"Hey, what's wrong sweetheart?" He kissed her lightly and held the sobbing child close, waiting for her to answer.

"It was dark and raining, you were gone, and the rain wouldn't stop. I could feel something watching in the sky. I was suddenly afraid something had happened to you." She buried her little head into Sean's shoulder seeking confirmation that he was still there.

Jack caught the look on Sean's face. They had discussed Sean's dreams in more detail earlier. Somehow these were different. The something watching in the sky coupled with a danger to Sean had the little hairs on the back of Jack's neck sticking up. His eyes started putting together the information while Sean soothed the crying girl.

"Tina, it was just a dream. I know they seem real but right now you can see, I'm here and the rain isn't. So why don't we put you back to bed? We're going for a picnic later and I think you want to be a little bit awake for that. Right?"

She nodded into his shoulder and whispered something to him. "Can you show me what I am?" She rubbed her eyes on his shirt before she looked into his. Those blue eyes of frighten little girl blinked at Sean. She was pouting at him.

The face of this lost angel was so beautiful to the doctor that he opened his heart to her and smiled like the sun at Tina. "Oh my sweetheart, yes I will, but you need to sleep. So let's get you tucked in. Do you need anything before hand?"

She shook her head no as Sean brought her back to the living room and her bed on the couch. Gwen stirred but didn't wake. Tucking Tina in, he kissed her forehead leaving her to fall asleep. He headed upstairs.

It was just a little while later that Sean heard the footsteps of Jack trying to softly climb the creaking wood of the old staircase. Sean saw him in the doorway while he finished taking off his clothes. The bed springs creaked slightly as he sat down on it.

"Better get this oiled if we are going to have a child stay here. I won't want our activities to disturb her." He attempted a smile but he was far too tired and he knew that Jack was thinking about something that was hanging between them since their talk.

As he removed his coat, Jack asked his question. "She is staying with us then? Not that I mind, I just don't make for a good father figure. Alice can attest to that. Sean what if, I mean things could go wrong. I don't think I'm the one to raise her." He looked at his lover as he unbuttoned his sleeves.

"I hope to be back after I find Paul. But if something happens, who will be here with Tina? You can't come with me." He studied Jack's face after their eyes let go of each other.

Jack seemed to take the news well. He was hurt, but there must be a reason. Sean was seeing things far beyond his inner vision now. All Jack could do is hear Sean out. There was always room for discussing the pros and cons later. Right now it was just part of their relationship. Jack was at the stage in his long life that he had to let those he loved do what they must.

"When do you think you will be leaving?" Jack removed his shoes and wrist strap.

"As soon as I hear from Ianto," Sean stretched out on the bed, watching Jack.

"Okay, what does Ianto have to do with this?" Jack frowned in confusion.

Sean sighed, as he turned sideways, shifting his body to face Jack. Absentmindedly, he picked at a thread in the bedcover as he thought of a way to phrase it.

"The Gods, well the one that you met, found him very interesting, I assume. Liam mentioned something about it when I went to see him. After listening to your side of the story, I assume that Ianto is playing more of a part than we thought. Ianto went to find Paul. There is some connection there that I can't see." Sean avoided Jack's eyes.

"Liam and you, did you…" The question hung there like something that needed airing. "I mean if you did, I understand, after what I did." Jack started to unbutton his top collar button.

Sean looked up at his lover, breathing out before he responded. "I was close to doing that. But it wasn't the same. I didn't feel that connection, well not like when he was alive when we were lovers." He watched Jack's face brighten for a moment.

With his pants removed Jack slid onto the bed. Legs slightly crossed, he continued his scrutinizing of Sean. "Why?" Was all he had to say.

"Because it is different, I'm not that person anymore. I love you." He looked up at Jack and grinned.

"Sean, I'm coming with you. Don't say no, you need me as back up."

There was only one way to say this and it was breaking Sean. It was going to hurt Jack, but he had to make sure Jack understood. "No, if I die, and there is a good chance that I might, he could just kill you. You have told me before when you are dead, it is easy to restrain you and that you are vulnerable. I don't have the time to worry about what he will do to you. That is not an option, my friend. My love, you have to see that, I would never find peace, knowing I led you to hell." He caught Jack's fiery gaze.

Jack for the first time realized that someone understood what he was all about. "Not even Ianto thought like this, Sean. He thought of me in a very different way. Almost like I would never suffer. He assumed that I would get rescued or saved. Even when he knew I was buried alive for almost two thousand years, he never quite got it. But you being a prisoner, at the mercy of someone else, you see what I've been through. How do you expect me to not be there for you? I can't lose you now." He cupped the young man's face, forcing Sean to look at him.

"It is because you can be captured and used that you must stay here. Right now we have the advantage. Jack, Paul has no idea about Ianto lurking about. Ianto is doing the work and the one that Paul destroyed is leading him. Paul has no idea where I am. Even if you do get away, if the worst happens and I die, you can't come back here to Hope. He will follow you like a bloodhound after a fox. Who is going to help them fight Paul if you're not here? I need you in charge of the second line of defense. Just listen to me! When did I become all military?" He grinned and laughed a little.

"And Tina, you need someone to keep her safe. Oh my dear…" He puffed out a little air from his lips. "I see what you're saying. I understand and, I will do this because I love you, obey your wisdom and keep them safe. But Sean, do what you must," he made sure that their eyes were looking directly into each other, "even if that means it will break my heart." He gathered the young man in his arms seeking his lips and to meld with him. He knew time was short so they had to make the most of it.

The affection was tender as was their joining. The two spent Gods slept until the sun came up. The Immortal God looked out at the new day and hoped it would not be the last with the Time God in his arms.

Somewhere, Ianto Jones was in fear of his death. There are some things even a ghost shouldn't know.

End Chapter 38 TBC


	37. Chapter 37

Running, if a dead man can run, and it seemed like he was. After all, he was breathing heavily. Something Sean gave them back in Paradise, the New Eden, physical form and body functions. Ianto found eating was a good thing. As was sex, it was yes, very good to do in the Eden-like afterlife. It was something that he found interesting with his new-found lust over Liam in the way the doctor would pant when they touched. Of course Jack 2 and Elaine were not at all shocked that they were having the time of their lives. Jack 2 asked Ianto and Liam to come by and join them sometime. He was going to suggest to Sean that they have an X-rated version of Eden and a tamer one for children, if needed. Ianto was hard pressed to think what families would think of Jack 2 propositioning everything, including the family dog.

Wait, how come it always somehow goes back to Jack? Why is it that Jack seems to be able to distract him from the worst moments when they happen?

The corridor he had wandered into was dark except for where the leftover currents of electricity sparked, causing brief moments of illumination around the spaces against the wall. He mused how if he were still alive it would have frightened him more. But dead, he thought that it was as if he was like a character in a first person shooter game. Except for the fact he had no weapon. If only there was a BFG lying around; he would feel a little more in control.

"And why was there water dripping from the ceiling? Can't evil bad guys nest in four- star hotels? Just once it would be nice not to be creeping around degraded buildings waiting for something to be all ugly and smelly at me." Ianto walked a little faster down the corridor.

The lights flickered again and within a split second of darkness a figure was in front of him. The dead Welshman jumped back in fear of the sudden presence.

It was Sean.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ianto look at the handsome man in front of him that showed up out of thin air.

"You're almost on top of Paul. So I came to tell you the next step. But first a few questions about what my creator said to you." Sean was very calm with his voice.

"Can't you do this with Jack? Or is there something that he didn't get that you think I did. What would he give to me that could be different?" He asked to Sean's calm face.

The thought 'what has he given to you that is different from me,' in regards to Jack and Sean passed through and left just as fast.

"Is my creator still around somehow? Did he ask you to help him to help me? Ianto, you not getting the portals from me! So he must be the one to be guiding you. I was the one giving you the ability before. I just pray that somehow Paul hasn't gotten to you. There is more than Jack to worry about here!" Sean was trying to stay in control. He didn't have long, halfway from one plane to the next; he wasn't sure he was under Paul's radar. But there was still a chance that if Paul was controlling Ianto that if Sean left now, Paul would be right behind him. The lights dimmed again.

Sean reached for Ianto and pulled him into the portal. They stood in between planes watching stars start, grow and explode, the universe living through time. Life going through its transformations and then starting again after it decomposed. The spiral life stream was endless. Ianto gaped. "Whoa, this is, well…" He smiled, showing teeth with his mouth opened. "Oh my god, this is wondrous! Sean, you… this… the whole thing, is beautiful."

Sean blushed at Ianto's comment. "Now I realize now you're not being controlled by Paul. He doesn't have this beauty in him or the ability to witness it. I'm sorry for upsetting you. I can't be too careful. The world is in the balance if he wins, Ianto. We are talking Armageddon of sorts. Paul is the opposite of me; he is the failed end of it all." He stopped and took a breath, collecting the mountain of thoughts he needed to relay to Ianto in the least amount of time.

"When I started working on the machine, my memories started to surface back. All those years of mind wipes healed and I became aware of myself. In my dreams, the God showed me some things but it was mainly shared memories. But when Liam said you went to look for Paul, I needed to know where you stood. When you left, Jack said it was rather sudden. Paul must have known about you by then. He disappeared rather fast after they found Tina as well. He must know Tina is with me. But he can't find me through her." Again his emotions were a mask, but his mannerism was warm very caring.

"The answer is no. We can't see each other or sense each other, which is good. Because he doesn't know I'm here." Sean stopped for a minute to regroup his thoughts.

"But how did you know he is here?" Ianto frowned.

"Because I can use you as a sensor. You may not see him yet, but your subconscious picks up on him. It comes from working around the Rift for so long. Jack is a great example of time vision, He was on the TARDIS, and he has traveled through Time. He can be used to see into things that are based in time. My kind, well my creator's kind from what I gather, found the Rift in the earliest of stages in its development. They used it for energy, which is how he was able to remake me with Rift energy. Every creature has a sense of Time. We call most of it instinct. He, my creator was dying , so I have the Rift on my side. Paul didn't. His makeup is far different from mine; our creator was well back then and still able to fight. He botched Paul intentionally." He paused, realizing he had gotten off track a bit.

"Anyway, since you are a source of Rift energy, I can bank my sights off you like radar. He was up ahead from you. I'm using Iantodar." Sean laughed.

"What Ianto radar? Leave the names to me Sean, you suck at it," the Welshman chuckled. He was warming up to Jack's new lover. This man seemed to stay composed and happy, even in the wake of doom. Ianto was starting to see what Jack found so appealing about this man. Sean was calming to all around him. It was a very natural talent.

"Jack said you came up with the best names. Well someday, if there is a someday, you can name all the things we are discovering I can do. At least this way I can better understand it for Tina. I hope I can show her what she is. I would hate to leave her an orphan and unprotected." His tiny smile told that he didn't see that as an end to the tale yet.

"Can't you tell what is going to happen?" Ianto looked past Sean as a star went super Nova and exploded. "Now that was cool!" His eyes danced at the experience.

"Not this future, it is not a fixed point, like Jack, just something that can change. Despite what everyone says about time, even the Doctor, it changes a lot. Histories change, outcomes may vary. Jack even said last night that the only real information about this time was…"

"Was that 'the 21st century is when it all changes.' Yeah I know. He is rather vague about it. Which means he doesn't know or didn't know what happened that changed it. I think I just confused myself." Ianto Jones smirked.

"Yes exactly, and him being a fixed point doesn't help. It doesn't make him indestructible. Rather leaves him open to a lot of pain and torment. At least he said he would let me fight Paul alone. I can't worry about him. Paul is just mad enough to have a field day with him." Sean looked at the universe floating past them and thought about bringing Jack here when it was all over. At least he had a positive thought that it would be over in a good way. Maybe that would be enough to stop Paul. It was the battle that was the problem.

Ianto told Sean what he needed to hear, it came to him in a flash of memory, that it had been stored to be activated when a pass code had been entered. Somehow that is what this conversation did, opened the information that Sean needed.

"He told me that in time I would be called upon to help you. Sending me back to Eden, he hid a message for you in my mind. Now it has been opened for you to see."

Ianto vanished as Sean's creator took his place. "May I call you son? For that is what you are to me. I made you to be the closest to my kind possible. How many we were Sean, vast as the stars. We sealed our fate and condemned ourselves to death by staying on this beautiful planet Earth. Sean, son, you can win but you have to defeat Paul without taking his life. I know this seems like an impossibility, but it isn't. It will come to you, when the rain starts and the world goes dark, the answer will come. I wish I could be there, but I have gone to the place where I was born; someday you can see it as well. But first, get Paul to Eden; fight him there away from the earth. At least if you fail, he won't be able to leave. For once he is in the world you've created; he can't exit if you are dead. He is not aware of that. His hate for you will force him to find you. Ianto can lead him there. I wish I could be there to help you, my son. Someday we can greet each other and smile." Sean reached to touch his other father as the image faded, leaving him with Ianto.

"Guess since I can go anywhere, I'll get Paul to Eden. He will see me now. I have been compromised." Ianto captured Sean's eyes with his own.

"If you can start that, I can reinforce Eden. I can keep Jack and the others safe by making sure Paul is locked in. I'm sorry it means that Liam, the others and you are on the chopping block. I wish I could give you another home, Ianto. I'm sorry, this may mean a trip back to the darkness again." Sean reached for Ianto and hugged him.

The love that went through Ianto was not unnoticed. Sean's pain was also there as Ianto grabbed hold and hugged back. "Hey, it was fun; I'm glad that I had this time to be again. No worries, I owe you, and I owe Jack. Who I'm sure will beat down the walls if you don't come back."

Sean moved away to study Ianto for a moment. "He isn't allowed to, I told him I need him to keep Hope safe, that he has to be there for Tina and the others. He thinks he can solve this. But I have gotten him to a point where he isn't going in guns a blazing." Sean smiled at Ianto.

"Oh, but he is so magnificent when he does that. He goes all Captain, Tosh used to call it. He was so stunning." A dreamy look came over Ianto as he went to his Jack spot.

"I wish you could see that look on your face. Ianto, I owe you for this. Are you ready? This is going to be painful when he sees you, when he gets hold of you. Just fight for a bit, like you were a caught spy, then submit and bring him to Eden. Don't play the hero; he is going to torture it out of you. He used to do it to me after Liam died. How can anyone kill the ones they love?" Sean's last part made Ianto aware of the sadism he was going to experience.

"I do my best, for Jack, Liam, you and Earth. Sean don't worry, I'm still dead, so really it doesn't matter. Thanks, for Jack, for all of it. See you in Eden."

Sean opened the portal alerting Paul to the Welshman's presence. Focused on the next step, Sean returned to the cottage to spend one more day with the ones he loved.

Jack's hair was still ruffled as he walked into the kitchen with just his pants and t-shirt on. The smell of coffee awoke him to an empty bed. He assumed Sean was getting ready for the day and also for his confrontation with Paul. He pushed that thought out of the way as Gwen and Martha giggled at him from their seats at the table.

"What?" He eyed the picnic baskets on the counter.

"You're not even wearing socks, you look almost human. I thought you just slept in your clothes. Unless you took them off for a better reason," Gwen teased, earning her a towel tossed at her head.

"I'm not that kind of person, Gwen. Besides coffee first, chatter later." He took the first sip and sighed, feeling the caffeine rush course through his veins. "Ah... much better." He took a seat at the table. He smiled, as the women just looked him. Sipping his coffee he started to feel uncomfortable. "What?" He asked for the second time.

"Nothing, we are just trying to put the pieces of the new Jack together. Really, you are very different," Martha said.

Jack pouted at them. "Don't it isn't really that fantastic. This is how I was before I met the Doctor. More casual. I just got that 'groove' back. I just don't feel like the other Jack right now. Don't know if it is a good thing. But most of the important skills are still there." He winked at the two, causing them all to explode in laughter.

"Well I like this Jack as well, just takes a bit getting used to. Oh, Sean is outside with Tina and as he calls it, Ianto the bird. His Da and Sun Cat came by with those picnic baskets. They went with Rhys, Andy and Alice to the Machine tent. God I wish Ianto was here to name some of the things around here. I would make the explanations easier." She paused to make sure that Jack was okay. He just smiled back at her sipping his coffee. Sipping, she mused not gulping his coffee. "Anyway, we are going to all meet up around 10am here and head to the stream. So I would put socks on and another shirt. Or is this a naked picnic for you?"

He laughed, spitting coffee out. "You are never going to drop that are you, Mrs. Williams? Oh, you so should have joined in that day. Ianto was hot and bothered just thinking about…"

"Stop right there! I don't want to hear what you two thought after I interrupted."

"What you actually saw them… you know?" Martha chimed in.

"Well not exactly that, but it was enough to make the brain shut down a bit. Never did go into the hot house again unless I had to." Gwen loved teasing Jack.

"I thought you avoided plant duty for that very reason. But did you really think that Myfanwy's nest wasn't christened by us as well?" He looked at Martha. "She took over feeding her on occasion. Instead of the hot house."

"Gross, that poor creature! Jack, have you no shame?" Appalled, Gwen got up to put her mug in the sink.

"No." Came the quick response from the Immortal.

Martha lost it, falling out of her chair and onto the floor.

"Death by laughter, that isn't uncommon." Jack said as he got up to help Dr. Jones to her feet.

Giggles and shrieks of glee were heard through the partly opened window. Jack walked over to have a look. There was Sean and Tina in the garden in what seemed to be a haze of pollen and seed fluff. Sean was walking around, the sun shining on his hair making it seem almost lit up in a golden brown haze. Jack smiled at his angel and a thought crossed his mind. He was going to go out and enjoy this moment with the both of them. Make it the three of them, just then Ianto the bird sat on the windowsill and chirped at Jack.

"Okay I'll be out, just let me get a refill." The bird chirped in response and flew to rest on Sean's head.

"Jack, are you going to put socks on before you go out?" Gwen's mother instinct kicked in.

Jack glanced at his feet and shook his head no. Out of the house he strolled while the sun warmed his body. He sipped his coffee as he came closer to what in his eyes were two giggling children. It was then that Jack saw where the fluff was coming from.

Sean was walking in a circle lifting each foot up and down carefully. As he walked plant life sprung up and began to flower. With each step more were created. Tina would step on the flowers and they would go to seed, creating the fluff of seedpods and yellow pollen. With a little effort she would sweep her hand and the wind would blow the fluff into the air and it would begin to travel.

Jack watched the substances fly up and away in fluffy clouds all while a gleeful child laughed and danced around the cottony whirlwind. It was magical, it was amazing. It was so Sean to come up with a way for a child to enjoy her abilities. He stood silently and watched.

Ianto the bird had other plans. She, yes she, had a reason for luring the Immortal out of the safety of the kitchen. The devil bird had planned it all along. Without warning she left Sean's head and aimed a path straight for Jack. Jack being so engrossed in the play before him never saw it coming. Blue Bird Ianto swooped in and with skill, stole a bunch of Jack's hair off the top of his head leaving a bleeding bald spot. Jack screamed causing Sean to turn around to see Jack cursing and holding the top of his head.

"Jack!" He ran to his lover as Martha and Gwen came out of the kitchen. Martha ran to Jack with her kit in hand.

"Fuck!!! That bird just ripped the hair from my head. What the hell did I do that for? I thought we were getting along." He continued to suck in air with the pain.

Martha pried his hand away to have a look. "Oh dear, I hope it grows back, I mean when you heal, it will grow back right?" She made a yuck face at the rather large path of hair that was missing form Jack's scalp.

Gwen tried not to giggle at the face Jack made when he heard Martha's word.

Sean was looking at the wound and hid the giggle from Jack.

"I heard that, laughing boy! What kind of hell bird did you help? He attacked my vanity. This is war!" Jack huffed trying not to let the pain take control.

"Well, if it was your vanity she wanted you would be rolling around screaming right now. I don't think she wanted that, but something of you because of your scent. It makes for good bedding for her young." Sean put a hand on Jack's shoulder and looked sideways into his lover's eyes.

"It is a she and she's going to be a mom! That is no excuse." He winced as Martha applied an ointment to numb the pain.

"Jack you mean a lot to her, she took your hair for bedding for her nest, so when her young hatch they will be warmed by you. I think it is cute."

"Cute! She didn't take your hair!" He was not convinced until Sean planted a big kiss on his lips. "So she thinks I'm warm." He smiled at his lover.

"She isn't the only one." He leaned in again.

"Hello, doctor at work here." Martha chimed in.

"Thanks Martha, I really didn't want to be afraid to go in to the garden." Gwen joked earning a growl from Jack.

"Ouch that hurts!! Please just leave it, and stop touching it." Jack moved away from Martha.

Sean, Martha and Gwen started to laugh uncontrollably. Tina came up scrunching her face up at the adults. Soon Alice, Andy, Rhys, Phil, and Mickey were gathered at the trinity laughing at Jack.

"What the hell is so funny??" He yelled.

"I was nowhere near your wound Jack, it already healed." Martha smirked.

"Really?" He blinked, joining them in their laughter. He reached for the spot on his head and felt the soft hairs growing back in place. He winked at Sean.

With that said and done, Sun Cat and Peter showed and the group headed for the stream.

Sean hung back for a bit to glance towards the direction by Elaine's tombstone and Eden. He estimated that he only had a few more hours until Paul was in Eden. Time being as precious as it is he had better make the most of it.

"Jack, don't you want to wear your shoes?" He called to his Immortal lover.

"No." Said the Immortal God. "I feel like being barefoot for a bit." He waited for Sean to catch up. Holding hands with the sun overhead, they went to enjoy what could be their last hours together.

Ianto screamed as the blade came down.

Phil watched the group but suddenly turned to see a dark cloud out of place in the brilliant blue sky.

He began to think of the journal he was keep. A later entry that day stated:

_"We sat and enjoyed the sun for a bit. In the hours that were to come a head we would watch the effects that the Gods war had on Mother Earth with fear. If all failed we would be tied to our worst nightmares and on crippled knees we would pray that Sean would bring the light. Our Gods thrashed it out on the land of New Eden, we believed. For we could feel the battle in the lands direction, but we could not see it with are human eyes. Even the Time God's lover, the Immortal one sat still as he strained to hear any sound that his lover was victorious."_

End Chapter 37 TBC


	38. Chapter 38

There was a part of Jack's soul that knew when Sean came back. He was suddenly tense as he sat at the table in the little cottage kitchen with the rest of Sean's closest friends and the Torchwood staff. He lifted his eyes from the study of the coffee mug cupped in his hands to gaze around the room.

Alice was the first her father sought. She stared out the window lost in her thoughts about the baby growing inside her. She turned back to the room to find her father looking at her directly. He looked older again, like the weight of the world was back on his shoulders. It was the same helpless look that he gave her after Steven's death. She smiled warmly at him, reaching for her middle to remind him that some things could be fixed.

He smiled at Alice with a melancholy glint showing in his soft blue eyes. Blue, Alice thought as the color she would always put to her Daddy. It seemed to be the color that best described him. Those eyes, that blue in them was solely her dad's. She herself had traces of that blue, but not quite the same. No one on this Earth had those eyes. So lost and alone in their gaze, haunted and always pain filled.

Except when she saw him around Sean, there was a peace, like Jack found someone to ground him. Now Sean was gone and that haunted look was back. Sean made a difference in her dad's life. Maybe that was why they were all sitting around with Jack. They wanted him to know he wasn't alone any more. There were so many friends hell bent to help him with his hurt being. The burden wasn't his to carry anymore.

Ralph and Helen sat opposite the former Time agent holding hands. The older couple was still so devoted to each other, even after many years together. They always reached for each other when they felt sad or distressed. Right now it was because they needed to show support for Jack. He always was envious of their shared feelings. Not in a bad way, he just wished for once he could feel that way for someone. Ralph knew from the times over the years that he had run to Jack in his emptiness. It was time for him to do the same for his friend. Within these feelings Sean was, at least Ralph hoped, Jack had finally found what he had with Helen. Ralph squeezed Helen's hand wishing that Sean made it back, for Jack's sake.

Sun Cat wandered out of the kitchen to join Sean's Da as he looked onto the patio and the garden. She put her hand on the near to tears Peter, and rubbed his back.

"I was going to tell you that he is remarkable. Peter, I know he will shine through this and come back. I believe in him. He is a lot like his father in that respect." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"He is better than me, always was. He was that small beautiful boy, always smiling despite his pain. What have I done to him?" His tears fell as the rain did outside. Sun Cat merely pulled Peter closer as his tears fell as heavy as the rain pounding the patio. "I was never as good as him." He looked at the woman next to him, the one he should have married.

"You did exactly what he would have done, protect the ones you love. He is your son despite what you may think." She looked into his eyes. He nodded, losing all ambition to cry with her words, he went back to watching the rain.

Back in the kitchen, Andy flung open the door, soaked from head to toe. Alice stifled a giggle at her drowned rat of a partner and went to fetch a towel, careful not to disturb Peter and Sun Cat in their tender moment.

"It's raining bloody buckets out there. I've just come back from the field. Mickey says if it doesn't stop soon, the whole of Hope is going to be a lake. The machine is not working and we can't seem to figure out why." He took the towel Alice handed him briefly touching her hand; he smiled as he dried himself off.

"Sean was in control of the machine. He was supposed to have fixed it so it would function without him. Now something isn't right, something must have happened to Sean." Phil spoke as he began to head for the door. "Look, I know that machine, so do you Rita, we built it with Sean so maybe we can get it to stop the rain for a bit, just enough to get Hope to a better advantage." He looked at Jack, who was looking past him to the window and the pounding rain. Lightning flashed in the sky, thunder sounded as if the world was coming to an end.

"Right," Andy said. He kissed Alice and went for the door. "Let's see what we can do. Rhys you want to come?" He asked Rhys, who glanced at Gwen.

"Yeah, I'm just a body standing in the way here. Might as well do something even if it is to just get wet." He cupped his wife's chin and grabbed his coat leaving with Andy, Phil and Rita.

"Be careful," Jack pleaded with them. He wasn't even sure if they heard him over the loud crash and wind driven rain that deafened the occupants of the kitchen as the door opened.

Gwen went to comfort Jack in his current state. He reached for her hand as she came closer. Looking into her eyes, he wondered why he invited her into the soulless life of Torchwood in the first place. He thought of himself as being cruel to her, that he wanted to hurt something or he hoped she would have given up, but she was the strongest out of all of them. Maybe he believed she was the future of Torchwood. That her strength would help others survive in their future. His failures lay dead, meaning Gwen was the sum total of his work. Not bad, he mused. He could have chosen worse for the future of Torchwood. Oh, he could have turned others away. He felt he let his emotions dictate his actions with many of his choices since he was left with this burden on New Years Eve 1999.

But he thought of all the good that happened, and he smiled up at that progeny he created from her 'never give in' attitude. "We did good, right Gwen?" His voice was thick and husky with emotion. "Damn, I tried." He kissed her hand as he stood up.

"Yes Jack, of course we did good. Why don't you lie down a bit? We'll let you know…" Before the rest of the words left her mouth, a sudden crash of thunder mixed with lightning enveloped the house. The house went quiet until off in the distance, upstairs, a baby cried.

Jack let go of Gwen and followed by Martha and the others ran to the bedroom on the second floor.

Wide-eyed, Jack halted at the door to see a baby lying naked on the bed with a rather dead looking Sean next to the screaming infant. Jack caught the sob that escape his mouth and jumped quickly to the unmoving body of his lover. A touch of the hand to Sean's face revealed the skin to be ice cold.

"No!! NO!! NOOO!!!!" Jack began to scream, prompting Ralph to muscle Jack away as he signaled for Martha and Sun Cat to take a look at Sean.

"Jack, let them have a look. Hey, it is going to be all right." He hugged his dear friend, allowing the Immortal to collapse onto him. Jack hugged onto Ralph while the others tended to Sean.

Gwen appeared and took the baby in her arms, going to find a blanket for it with Alice to help her. Alice felt the need to go to her father but she saw that the room was full and the baby was in need of care as well. She knew that Ralph was not going to leave her dad so he was being looked after as well.

Martha checked over the lifeless Sean while Sun Cat took some readings of the area around the bed. Sean's body was lying prone on the bed; eyes staring lifelessly up at the ceiling gave every indication that he was indeed dead.

"I don't think I've seen this before. Martha, what do you make of this?" She showed the device to the young doctor.

"Just confirms what I was thinking. He is neither here or where he was last. He is stuck in the middle. Not alive or dead. He is just… I don't know how to put it. No brain functions, but there is no decomposition either. It is almost like he is preserved or frozen in a spot. He is ice cold. I don't like that."

Jack peeked up from Ralph's arms as he listened to what the two doctors were saying. He was at a loss for what to feel. Sean wasn't dead, but he wasn't alive either. Jack just blankly stared at the women as they continued their work and discussion.

The sun was around the group as the sound of the rushing water mixed with splashes and laughter from the picnickers. Ianto the bird came by to apologize to Jack by singing him a beautiful song. In the end the bluish bird snuggled on top of Jack's head near the recently injured spot. Jack couldn't help but smile as he settled down with a chicken leg to watch as Sean, Tina and Peter splashed around the water with Andy and Rhys. The rest of the group was chatting away. It was Alice that sat next to her Dad.

_She reached for his hand that was not involved in food play and held it. As she watched the scene especially Andy's interaction with Tina, she made the decision to tell her Dad what was on her mind. _

_Running a hand over her middle she smiled, eyes glimmering in her father's direction. "Dad, I want to tell you something and you have to behave. I haven't told Andy and I don't want a fuss to be made in front of everyone. I'm going to have a baby."_

_Jack dropped the chicken leg and the abrupt turn of his head earned him a peck from Ianto the bird. "What, how, Andy???" was the extent of his response, though he did keep it low. But there was a quick glance directed at the lanky ex PC dancing around in the water splashing everyone. _

"_No Sean." Alice plainly stated. _

_Jack's composure shattered. He just gaped at his daughter eyes wide and mouth open. "Run that by me again, I didn't quite hear that," he finally said. _

_Alice's laugh was just like her Dad's. She loved the way Jack could be so adorable with his confusion. Burning him was an art form. One had to know what buttons to push to get the best reaction. _

"_Not that way. He said he gave me Steven back. He brought my body back to the first month of the pregnancy. It is true, Dad. Sun Cat confirmed it, as did Martha. I did a bloody virgin Mary!" She laughed towards him making him smile._

_As he reached to hug her, he spoke. "This time I will be there for the both of you, and this time I'll be his grandfather. I promise!" They settled back down and ate some more food. _

_Sean walked over, reaching down he stole the new chicken leg Jack was nibbling on and took a bite. "It tastes better after you have bitten into it first." He said before Jack could protest the taking of his food. _

_Alice giggled at the interaction of the two and excused herself to go frolic in the water with Andy. The kiss they shared was wonderful to watch. Andy was lucky to turn Alice's head. Jack meant every word to his daughter. This time it would be different. _

_Jack pulled his lover into his lap and hugged him, reaching in to snake his arms around his small waist. He pulled Sean close enough to whisper into his ear. "Thank you, I don't know what else to say, but thank you for Steven." The whisper became a kiss on the neck; the kiss trailed its way to Sean's soft lips. Deepening the kiss, it was time for the lovers to leave the group. Jack needed to have Sean and Sean knew why._

_They left unnoticed. Jack returned without Sean as the darkening sky threatened rain. Thunder sounded off towards Elaine's tombstone, causing the group to seize their playing and look at Jack's stricken face. "It has started; we had best get back to the cottage. Phil, Mickey. Sean left you instructions back at the tent. Meet us up at the cottage later. We have plans to make." Alone, he headed up the path. He had just said goodbye to Sean, he wanted a few minutes to adjust. _

It was this memory that played in Jack's mind as the doctors worked on Sean. There was nothing they could do for him but wait. The rain had stopped and the sky was clearing but what happened in Eden, they didn't know. Only Sean knew that.

He could hear the baby crying. He wondered who the child was. The thought came to him. He shook off Ralph and hoarsely asked Martha a question. "Martha do you have Paul's DNA, from before his transformation, when he was in UNIT? They always put your DNA in the file."

Martha looked at Jack and nodded, knowing exactly what her friend was getting at. "I'll test the child out and find out if it is him. There is really nothing we can do for Sean, except keep him warm and wait. He might come back. Then again he might not. I would wait it out and see. Jack why don't you get him something warmer to wear and you guys change him, Sun Cat come with me for a bit. We will be back with some more blankets." Sun Cat shot her a 'what for' look. Martha widened her eyes at the woman. Sun Cat realized then that Martha was telling her that Jack need to be alone for a bit with Sean and Ralph was the only other person he needed around at this moment.

"Right, I'll go sit with Peter a bit. Poor lamb will need some company." The doctors exited as Ralph began to go through the drawers for something warmer.

Jack just stood by the bed looking at the lifeless body of his lover and wondered what to do next.

In the days that followed, Hope and the surrounding areas began to dry out. It was soon learned that the world had suffered at the same time the devastating rain that Hope had experienced and it stopped at the same moment Sean showed up in the bed of Jack's cottage. The World was confused at the phenomenon and decided that it was some kind of global sign that the World needed to unite to help each other out. The death toll due to flooding and its aftermath was high. But it was needed as part of the cleansing in the eyes of some. Help came from all over and a united front formed. The World began to talk and share again. Within three days after the rains that seemed to wash all the sins away, the World was healing and its inhabitants were starting to understand and show compassion again to its neighbors.

A World council was formed and it was met with cheers. The damage the 456 caused was reversed and a World Order was formed. All nations were welcomed and treated equally. No one knew that it would completely heal all, for the trials weren't over. In twenty years it would begin again. But for now…

Jack sat and read the paper to Sean as he stared up at the ceiling. Try as they might, they could not get his eyelids to shut. So he would stare unseeing wherever they turned him to. Sun Cat suggested he get turned twice a day to prevent bedsores. Also he was bathed and changed often. Though without sweat or any other bodily secretions, they didn't use soap for fear of drying the skin. Jack would apply lotion that Hope produced from local plants to rub on Sean's skin.

Jack would use these moments to tell Sean stories of things he had seen or done. He even told him about his childhood, which he realized despite what happen to Gray was actually amusing.

"My little brother was no different from any other little brother. Sean, he used to get into such trouble, somehow I would get the blame. I didn't mind, he was my brother; I was just fulfilling my older brother requirements. But one day our neighbor, what was his name? Mean guy always yelled at us for anything. That was it, Mr. Rowlines. Sean, this was a classic, Gray painted his house one night, he was what 6 I think, with all these negative words that were in another lanuage and would be very hard to get right in English. So lets say he had a colorful vocabulary and a very storng will for a six year old. Of course since I was the one to have it out with the old man the day before I ended up being blamed for it. I got stuck painting the house again.

"My Dad knew it was Gray; he was covered head to toe in paint. But I took the punishment. My Dad asked me why. I just said it was what we do for the ones we love. After that Gray was watched more closely and he was the one punished for his trespasses. There I think we can put your clothes on and turn you to the left for tonight." Jack put the clothes back on Sean and gently turned the stiff form. He made him comfortable and wrapped him in the blankets.

Jack stared at Sean for a good five minutes before he excused himself. He told his lifeless lover that he had to talk to the others for a bit. Elaine's grove was acting up for some reason. Smoothing Sean's hair away from his eyes, he kissed his head and turned the lamp down a little.

He didn't see the right pinky twitch under the blanket.

_Five Days later:_

The kitchen was the Hub for conversation at the moment. Every familiar face was visible except for Gwen and Rhys who had returned to Cardiff that morning to make arrangements for the move to Hope. Since Sean's return, the Machine was back on line. They could use the Portal devices to travel and transport the Hub back to the new location in Hope. Keeping with tradition, the construction began on stabilizing some old mining shafts that were near Hope. The new Torchwood 3, 3.2 Jack kept calling it, was not breaking with the tradition of being underground. The entrance looked just like the landscape around the countryside.

Upon Jack's request Paula started to build the invisible lift. She was hooked on the project after spending many hours with Jack going over the details he retained of it. They formed quite a bond in the days that they talked. Her mind was rather intense and bright when she was entrenched in a project.

She would come to sit with Sean as well. They would talk with him lying there. Somewhere Jack knew his lover was trying to get back if only so he could yell at them to be quiet as he was asleep.

"I can see him saying that, Jack. He would be joking of course!" She moved her gaze to Sean lying on his back staring up at the ceiling.

Jack wasn't smiling.

Paula went to reach for the Immortal, thought better of it, excusing herself instead; she had a lot of work to do. "And I blame you for this!" She winked at him causing him to a last smile.

The kitchen was becoming the best place to keep the projects at hand moving. They had the tent with the Machine that would forever be advanced. The groups such as Tracy and Harry that were popping up around the world trying to make heads or tails of the events that the storm did to the earth. They noticed that the environment was healthier. Air quality had improved, as well as the abundant growth of plant life after the rains. This was being studied with further research. But they were being careful not to tip their hand with the other World groups that were running around trying to prove their theories to why this was happening.

Mickey was laughing at the end of the table by the time Tracy got done with her story of popping in to the men's room by mistake at one of the Security Council meetings that UNIT had put together. It wouldn't have been so bad except that there were a few diplomats and military types in there when she stepped out of the stall.

They blinked at her and she smiled adjusting her pants in front, and in her deepest voice possible, warned the others not to use the toilet for a bit, it needed to air. With that said, she strolled out in the guise of a female impersonator.

"No thanks to you, Mickey Smith! I told you that you had me nowhere near the proper location." Wagging her finger at him she scolded.

He fell off the chair laughing. When he regained his composure he told what was up with the Machine. "The problem we have been seeing the most is the proper place for the portals to open. Even with the precision in the handheld device, our errors are many. We didn't have this with Sean." The room was silent. "Hey, I know it is hard to talk about him when he is laying above us like he is. But he wouldn't have left us the means to continue unless he saw this as a possibility. He said to Phil once, I hope you don't mind me saying this to the others Phil, I know you told me in confidence." Phil shook his head. "He said 'I need you all far more then you need me.' What I think he was trying to say, that he is giving us the science, the idea, the method what ever you want to call it and we are to make it possible. From going over the past five months of records with the Machine, he did push himself a lot for all of you to find the answers. I think he needed for us to make this work without him."

"Because he sees himself as the last of his kind, well he didn't know of Tina then, at the beginning. I can see the need, the desire to make sure that we can stand on our feet without him. After reading and studying the documents Torchwood retrieved from the Institute sites, I have a pretty good understanding about where he has been leading us. Sean is healing the world. It was his creator's decision to make him against the gain of the wishes of the Institute. Liam was a pawn, and Paul was the one they really should have worked on, but he had failings. His genetics despite the change, let him age rapidly. Meaning every time he used his abilities to harm, he was slowly bringing himself to death." Alice added to the group.

"So what he did to Liam must have put a toll on him. But Sean was forced to kill, and then Paul would wipe his mind. Sean didn't age, he would recover, and it must have been the mind wipes and the repulsion to the act of killing that was making him sick. But somehow the walls they built up began to fall. Is that what he has been going through these past months?" Jack thought about this trying to see if he missed anything. "So his Creator must have put a failsafe in Sean to prevent aging. He would shake it off in illness. Paul must have been too evil from the beginning for him to think of sparing Paul." He remembered the asshole who worked for UNIT and nodded his head yes.

"As we put it together we can see how each piece fits. I think that Sean would like that we see what he sees. That Paul is gone and the world is heading forward again, let us thank Sean for that. May he'll come back to us soon." It was Rodger that spoke, causing the others to listen to their leader's words. The Torchwood members listened to him and nodded.

"Well let's get back to this discussion, it is getting late. We have to concentrate tomorrow on the mosaic effect by Elaine's tomb. It is neither an opening nor shutting portal. It is as if something else opened up. But it is where new Eden is. Or for all we know was. Did anyone know what Sean planned for his fight with Paul? It would help, I could try to track the energy and put the parts together." Phil turned towards Jack.

"Sorry my friend, he just left. I didn't get much time to ask and even if I did he wouldn't have told me. He said we needed something to talk about when he got back. He really isn't in a talkative mood at the moment." Jack frowned licking his lips.

The room grew quiet as they all went into their own thoughts. Rita broke the silence saying it was late and tomorrow was a busier day than normal. The group then disbanded leaving Alice, Andy and Jack in the kitchen. Jack started to clean up the cups and plates from the cake Helen left earlier. Alice watched.

"Dad, I'll do that, why don't you go up and be with Sean." She was worried because Jack was very quiet tonight.

"You're sure, I mean… I don't mind doing the dishes. His Da is with him anyway."

"Jack just go, I'll help Alice, I have to get use to that role once we're married, anyway." Andy put his arm around the former Mrs. Carter's waist and pulled her close.

Despite Jack's mood he smiled warmly at the couple. "I'm happy for both of you." He kissed his daughter, handing her the dishtowel, shook Andy's hand and headed upstairs. From the other room they heard. "Oh Andy, you call me Dad and I will cripple you!" He wished he saw the terror that appeared on the ex PC's face.

Jack climbed the stairs listening to Peter's voice soothingly read to his son.

"'God made the Hare and the Bengali. What a shame?' said Kim quoting the proverb.

"It was process of Evolution, from Primal Necessity…" Peter trailed off as the creak in the boards made him focus on Jack standing in the door.

"Is that Kipling's Kim? I didn't think I had a copy of it here. I met him once in India. Or was it Vermont?" Jack made a face as he bit his lip and tried to remember.

"I found the book on the shelf downstairs. I started reading Sean the story when he was doing the Chemo treatments. The thing is I never understood Kipling's writing, but for some reason Sean loved it. I thought that if I read it to him, he might find his way home. At least it made me feel better." The old man stood moving his back around to remove the kinks. He marked the page with a piece of paper and put the book down on the dresser before he left.

"Night, Jack." He said while the man stood in the doorway. It was then they reached for each other and hugged. It was brief but enough to share sorrow.

"Sleep well, Peter." Jack let the man pass and went to the bed. He turned Sean on his side to face towards the window. "This way you can see the sun when it comes up. I can hold you as well." He removed his clothes and got into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. Cuddling up next to Sean's cold form, he went to sleep.

Early in the morning, Sean struggled to get out of Jack's vice like grip. "Jack let go, I have to pee!" Jack mumbled something like "then go" before he flipped himself over facing the other way. Sean sighed wiping the sleep out of his eyes and left for the bathroom. His growling stomach led him to the kitchen were he found some chocolate cake. Eyes watering, he ate without a folk by picking up pieces of the cake and shoving it into his mouth. Stuffing his face, he heard pounding down the stairs and Jack shouting something. His Da entered the kitchen to the chocolate covered face of his son. Jack pushed his way in to see Sean standing there with a chocolate smile.

Laughing at his lover with relief he walked over to the pitcher and poured a cool glass of milk. Sean took it while finishing off the cake. He still didn't understand why as the rest of the room filled with others that stayed in the house. Or why they were just smiling and looking at him with joy.

All he could muster during the gulps of milk was a "What?"

Just then the sun came up over the hills signaling a new day.

End Chapter 38 TBC


	39. Chapter 39

Jack was feeling the heat from the wood-burning stove as he flipped the pancakes over before turning the bacon and scrambling the eggs. Sean sat at the table now having finished the cake and part of an apple pie before working on a few biscuits with butter. The others at the table watched as he stuffed his face. It was hard to wrap thoughts around one's mind that young man sitting there eating was the same as the one that had been frozen for over five days in the bedroom upstairs.

"Sean, don't you think Martha and Sun Cat should have a look at you, son?" The others could hear the concern in Peter's voice as he watched the fifth biscuit go down Sean's throat followed by a gulp of milk and coffee, followed by orange juice.

"I'm fine Da. Jack, where is the fruit from the orange juice? We shouldn't let it go to waste. I love that part." He stood to start going through the garbage but was stopped by Jack.

"Go sit down and try to act human. I'm almost ready with the eggs and bacon." He handed him a plate of pancakes. "Here, start on these."

Sean smiled and started eating before he made it to the table.

"You could use a fork," Jack chided. He let his eyes rest on the young man who was mauling his pancakes now drenched in syrup and dripping with butter. It was all over Sean's face making him look like a tasty breakfast treat all on his own. Jack fought back the urge to lick that angelic, food covered face. He hadn't had any time to show affection to the young man and it was getting to him. Sean was alive; he was sitting there shoving food into his lovely mouth. Suddenly Jack was not just hot from slaving over a hot stove.

"Arggh!" Jack yelled when the eggs started to burn. He chided himself for not paying attention. "I think they are ruined."

A tap on the shoulder made him spin around. He never felt Sean behind him or even heard him move to get up. But he was there with his plate. "Give it here, I don't mind." His eyes were dancing; so alive. Jack shook his head and laughed, dishing the eggs out to Sean.

I'll try not to burn the next batch, guys." He looked at the group at the table. It was just Sun Cat, Peter, and Alice who was looking a little green. "Alice, are you okay?"

"No!" She was watching Sean pour maple syrup on his eggs. She grabbed her mouth, stood up and ran for the bathroom.

"I'll go after her, Jack." Sun Cat glanced at Sean who was obliviously enjoying his food. She put her hand on Peter's shoulder and went after Alice.

Sean had pancake and egg all over his face. He went after the plate using his tongue to clean up his plate. Jack remarked, "Oh lucky plate!" causing Peter to clear his throat to reminded Jack that he was still there. "Sorry." He grinned bring the new platter of eggs and bacon over to the table along with just out of the oven biscuits. "Okay Sean, I'm not cooking any more. A: Because I'm hungry, and B: Because we are out of food. So if you want more then it is up to you. Hey, did you hear me?" Sean mumbled something at his lover before grabbing a fistful of bacon. Jack slapped his hand away and Sean let out a little growl. Jack blinked at Sean's animalistic behavior.

"Sorry." He sought Jack's forgiveness. Jack was going to reach for Sean's hand but was afraid he would get bitten. "I think I'm done, anyway. Do you still want me to see Martha, Da?" He wiped his face.

Peter blinked at his son, wondering why his opinion was now important. It dawned on him that Sean might be looking for reassurance within the old man, that he needed his father to know that despite the recent events he still needed him and still trusted him. Peter was touched by the love of his son. He let out his breath and shone a smile at his "little" boy. "It would be a good idea."

Sean pushed back on the table and grunted as he stood. He rubbed his full stomach before leaning over to Jack. He planted a kiss on Jack's lips before going to the sink to wash up.

"She is down at the tent, I believe." Peter said as he stared at Sean, who just stood there looking out the window not moving. "Sean?" Peter called to his son, the man stood there with the towel over his mouth not moving.

Jack bolted from his chair and was by Sean's side in moments. "Hey Sean, are you there?" He reached for Sean feeling a momentary coldness like when he showed up after his fight with Paul. Jack eyes went wide with fear. The skin became warm as Sean returned to wiping his face. Jack in his relief turned Sean around and pulled in him for a hug. "Don't do that again! I thought I lost you! Sean, what happen?"

"I don't know, it was like I stopped, everything stopped. You didn't stop, did you? It was just me. Jack hold me, just for now, don't let go." He snuggled into Jack's embrace.

"Hey, you're fine; it is going to be fine, but to make sure let's get Martha to look at you, okay?" Jack pressed up to Sean, not allowing any negativity to surface.

"I'll go get her. I'll be back." Peter was out the door before Sean could say no.

Tina peeked into the kitchen unable to bring herself in to see if Sean was really back. Though the rest of the group was very comforting to her, especially Alice, they didn't seem to understand what she was about. Only Sean knew what this was, what they were all about.

For the last five days, Tina wanted above anything to see Sean. She was trying to understand what the others were saying as they walked up and down the stairs from the room that Sean was hiding in. It seemed to be a little too adult for her to get. So she just would watch and play with the dolls she was given and wait for a chance to visit her older brother.

About three days ago Jack left Sean alone. So she found the courage to climb the stairs as quietly as she could. Peeking into the room she saw Sean on his back with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

"Sean, may I come in?" No answer. She moved into the room and stood at the bottom of the bed. "Sean, did I make you mad? I'm sorry if I did." Still no answer as Tina reached to tap Sean's leg. When he didn't move, she shook it. In her young mind she processed that no movement from the muscles on their own meant that Sean was asleep. "I guess you're really tired, huh? I just, well I think they have forgotten me. It is like I don't matter to them, with you asleep. I just wanted to help them. All they tell me to do is play quietly. Sean, I could help find you." She walked over to the top of the bed and leaned in to kiss the top of her new brother's head. Before she left she said. "I'll be here when you return. I need you to show me how, so next time I can help find you and bring you back to Uncle Jack."

Jack stood in the hallway as Tina came out of the room. Running to him, he scooped her up and soothed her. She was not visibly upset except for the frown she wore on her face. "We didn't mean to forget about you Tina, just there has been so much going on. Hey, why don't you help me tell Sean a story? He really loves stories. We could make it up together as a present to him. Would you like that?" He hugged her close and she nodded into his chest. They made up a story that had them both laughing, and hoping that somehow it reached Sean.

Back in the kitchen, Sean sensed the two blue eyes looking in from the doorway and broke his hug with Jack to go to the young girl. Her happy smile was followed by a giggle as she ran to the man that was so much like her. She jumped up and he caught her, gently twirling her around and joining in the laughter.

Jack felt such pleasure watching the scene. It was a long time since he was part of something that was invoked by real feelings. He was hoping that Sean would suggest that they raise Tina. He was so not sure about young baby Paul. Jack and Peter didn't go near the child. Even if it was just a baby, Paul one had started off like that and he still became a source of hurt for so many. Jack was hoping because of the child's age that Sean would give him up to someone else. Jack never was good around a diaper. Tina was already trained.

"What are you grinning at?" Sean stopped spinning Tina long enough to look at Jack.

"You… I'm just happy…is there something wrong with that?" He walked towards the pair. He kissed Sean and smoothed Tina's hair resting his hand on the back of her neck.

"So is one of you a mommy and the other a daddy?"

"Okay Dr. Knowlens, I'm leaving that to you." Jack teased.

"Thanks." He glared at Jack. "Well the least you can do is get Tina some breakfast, while I tell her the facts of life." He laughed that musical laugh of his and sat Tina down telling her about why two men can be in love like a woman and man.

_Five Days ago:_

"_Oh My dear Ianto, you not spent yet. Just open the portal to Sean and I'll end your pain. I bet you wish now that the brat left you in the dark. Was sex one more time with Jack Harkness worth selling your soul? I know Sean is the Angel, but they purchase souls as well. It is a misconception that the Devil and his demons are the only ones that barter in eternal life. Basically he conned you to suffer while he fornicates with your lover. Nice bargain, huh?" Paul dug the knife into another part of Ianto's solid form and twisted, making Ianto shout. _

"_You…really… don't… get…it." Ianto gasped out. One more plunge and a slow twist and Ianto was whimpering. _

"_There, you're almost ready. I'll tell you what. I will let you keep this form and get your Jack as well, the two of you can be dead together forever. Solid, so you could have at it all you want. Whenever you want. Come on, that is a fair enough deal than going back to the dark alone."_

_Ianto's eyes opened wide with fear. No, he didn't want to be in the dark again. Four years of that was enough. He was not going to wait there ever again. Weakly he said, "I don't want to go back, I'll open it for you, just heal me so I don't feel this anymore." He seemed hopeful that if he could be healed, he could be more help to Sean when they got to New Eden. The life, well life after death, was leaking out of every wound and he knew that soon he would return to the dark and all those lost voices that you could hear but never talk to. So many in the dark, so many all alone, just calling the way for someone to end the loneliness. _

"_When we get to Sean, only then." It was better than nothing. Ianto shook his head yes with his little bit of strength and Paul untied him. Holding the near dead again man up, Paul watched as Ianto opened the portal to New Eden.  
_

Martha examined Sean as he lay on the bed. His eyes were looking at the ceiling. Jack couldn't help but think of how it was as Sean looked for the last five days. The only thing that changed in Jack's opinion as he leaned on the dresser was now Sean would glance at him with a smile.

"Well?" Jack broke the long silence as Martha studied her readings.

"Sean your potassium levels are really low; so is your blood sugar levels. You're extremely anemic. I think that you should stay in bed while we give you an infusion to bring your levels up. Otherwise the relapse, if that is what we want to call it, was more than likely a side effect, not something that will occur again. That is just what I can find for now. My feeling is you're going to be fine."

Sean looked at Martha as if studying her. She started to squirm under his scrutinizing. The look became very uncomfortable for Martha, as Sean seemed to be reaching into her for something. He smiled suddenly, pulling away from the moment and softened his eyes. "Sorry, I suddenly was afraid you were hiding something. I'll never do that again. I swear to you."

The intensity of the action worried Jack, as he watched Sean bore into Martha. He almost jumped in, but thought better. Jack understood that Sean was becoming something else and sometimes that meant what you once trusted might be your enemy. Though Jack knew that Martha could be trusted, that was up to Sean to find out. But next time, Jack would interfere. It wasn't right, even on instinct, to let Sean intruded like that; after all it wasn't telepathy it was… What was it exactly?

Martha relaxed after Sean released her. She shook off the effect and hardened her eyes at the man looking at her. "You better not, that was rather uncomfortable. Why the hell did you do that?" She was angry and rightfully so.

"I got scared, started to think of Liam and Paul. They use to tell me one thing then do another. I just made sure that you were not lying; I should know you weren't but I went after your heart rate. Well, let see if I can explain this. I knew from our last encounter how you felt, your body, how it worked. But I wasn't able to really see you, but now, I have grown a bit and I was able to see you better. I did it to my Da before, but he didn't notice. I have to be careful around him. I mean I don't know what I mean. Well, your heart rate is the easiest way to see falsehoods in action. I think what I am trying to say is, you are the same person I first met." He looked at his hands he just folded over his stomach.

Jack was getting a little worried. It wasn't like Sean to start to questions those around him. Somehow this was a side effect of what went on in New Eden. Jack didn't dare ask for the story yet. He was just too happy Sean was breathing to pester him about it. He figured in time, he would tell him.

"Sean, if you need to talk about it, Jack and I are here for you along with half of the village of Hope. You can trust us, even if things point to something new, you shouldn't feel that you can't trust us." She ran her hand through his hair in comfort. He looked up into her warm eyes.

"I know, it's just, I don't know how to say it. It was pain, lots of pain, and yet it felt good. Like when you clean out a wound, it hurts and yet tingles with a good feeling. I don't know how to explain it. I guess I have to think about it." He waited for o something. Even if it was just to change the subject ne of them to say

_All the air left Ianto's lungs as he was pushed through the portal first. He barely had time __to fall to the ground before Paul put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. It all went black. "You lied!" He screamed as he found his way back to the darkness. He was alone, except for those sobbing in the black. Waiting for something. "I don't want to wait! Do you hear me Sean?" He fell against the cold nothing and wrapped himself around his legs. Well what he hoped were his legs. "Sean, don't let me rot here, I can still help. Please, for Liam, just don't leave me."_

Jack spoke to Sean after Martha excused herself so she could go find Sun Cat and begin Sean's treatment. Jack sat on the bed facing Sean and reached to cup his chin so he could get Sean to look at him. The young man was deep in his own thoughts and it was some time before he made eye contact with Jack.

"Time heals all wounds, Jack, time heals it all. I want to tell you, but it won't come to me. The portal has faded again, the one by Elaine's Grove. That was Ianto; he is in charge of New Eden now. He decides who will enter and who can leave. Pretty neat huh? That I know that, that I can tell that from here? Jack, I have to ask him nicely if I can enter." He laughed madly at Jack.

Jack was afraid at the laugh that came out of his lover. He pulled the young man close to him and held him. Sean's mental state broke as Jack held him tight. He shook with fear, trying not to cry.

"Hey, I would be scared too Sean, what happened I'm sure wasn't pleasant. So when you are ready you can tell me. I'm here for you." He shifted himself so he could properly hold Sean. "Let me tell you a story, about an Immortal God and his love for the Time God."

Sean nodded as he snuggled into Jack's inviting scent.

"What do you mean the portal closed?" Phil asked Mickey while he ran out to scan the field. The mosaic aura that was by New Eden was indeed gone. "Bloody Hell!" Phil yelled just as Martha arrived.

"What happened?" She asked Phil.

"The Portal just closed. How's Sean? You know how hard it is to keep a bunch of well wishers away from him right now." He looked at her face. "Something isn't right."

"He needs to rest, but it is more complicated than that. Is Sun Cat here? Listen, I know that you're a friend but I really can't talk to about it right now. He should be fine, he just needs to mend a bit." She smiled.

"She is with Peter in the village, I can transport you down there if you want. Is it that bad? Did he say anything about what happened?" He watched her sigh before she spoke.

"He is changing, becoming, if that is a better term. I don't think it is bad, just whatever happened, it made him grow. He did change the world, what would make us think that wouldn't have an effect on him?"

He nodded as the scientist in him saw her point. But the friend was covering up the fear that he might lose his best friend. The only one he ever had. When Jack was gone, Sean and Phil bonded. You just don't push that way even for someone who is "becoming". They knew everything about one another. He was a little jealous of Jack because Sean would be talking to him about what went on in New Eden first. But that is what lovers did. Sean needed his lover more than his best friend at this time.

"Hey Phil, wool gathering, are you? I asked if I could go down to the Village now. We have to get Sean his infusion before his levels drop more. It was at rather steady rate of depletion. I'm very concerned that he might slip back into his coma. I also need you to have Mickey run this through the computer. He is compiling it with the first time I examined Sean and the information Sun Cat added. Thanks." She added as she handed him a disc.

"Oh sorry, just thinking if Sean was going to be alright now that the portal to New Eden has closed."

Martha just stared at Phil. "I don't know." The response just came out of her mouth. Mickey interrupted them as he cleared his throat to alert his presence. "Oh TD, Phil has the data from my recent exam."

He scowled at the nickname TD. Growling a little in jest he took the disc Phil handed him. "Thanks I have the information together in a few. By the time you get back we can go over it. This way to your chariot, my lady." He bowed to Martha and walked over to the tent were the Portal device was. "It is easier when Sean is around. He just opens them it seems and pushes people through. I hope I don't put you through anything solid." He kept a straight face.

Martha gulped. "Hum, maybe I should walk down or drive. I really think that it is a nice day for a hike to Hope." She went to turn, prompting Mickey to grab her arm. It was the briefest of touches but it started something else. It would just take them awhile to figure out what that was.

"I'm kidding, Dr. Jones. It is not lethal and you are completely safe." Martha smiled at Mickey as she stepped in front of the device still a little unsure. "Now say cheese!" Mickey said as he set up the coordinates.

"Why the hell would I say that?"

"Oh never mind, oh humorless one. No walk forward. And when you are ready to return, Paula will see you home safe. Now go into the light, Martha Jones!"

She couldn't help but smile at Mickey's humor. She had watched him grow up over the last few years. No with Tom off god knows where, she was starting to look at Mickey, well let just say in her eyes he wasn't bad.

Those thoughts left her as she stepped into the portal and began the journey to Hope.

_Sean heard the cries of Ianto as his soul slammed into the Darkness again. He also could hear the thousands of others that were beating at the gates of New Eden begging to be let in. Some just gave up and followed Ianto down into the dark. Others begged for mercy, to be allowed heaven for they believed they were good._

_"I was good Sean, I never killed you. Tried as I may, it never happened. But you Liam, that was something I really, really wanted. Even when you came to me, I knew it was just to save your brat. But I swore somewhere in you there was a piece that still belonged to me of what we had. That last night I know that was just part of a dream. So if I couldn't kill the abomination, I would kill his husband. Oh Sean, did Liam stink of me that last time you saw him? He was with me for hours working off his debt for keeping you from them for one more time. But it wore so thin. He told me I disgusted him. And he had you come and get him. I followed. It was raining that night as well. Pouring like it is out there. Do you know why it is pouring? Because you are cleansing the world of my sins."_

_He stopped to study Sean as he did not move, or speak but just stood there. It was Liam that did the talking moving away from Jack2 and Elaine as they joined the three men when the sky of Eden darkened. And it was getting darker with each and every passing moment. _

_"Ianto is dead, Paul. I know that means nothing because he was already dead, as I am. But he didn't need to be killed. Why do you kill? Why did you always wish for things to die?" Liam moved towards Paul slowly. _

_"Because Death is what made me, and Death is what I serve. Well, I really serve myself. But that sounded good. What now Liam, do you want to join your new lover in death again. Dear God Sean, did Jack and you want to show up for a foursome every so often? It is rather sick of you to create this shag pad out of your talents. Well, I've had enough talk. Time to say goodbye." The wind picked up as it began to rain heavier mimicking the conditions outside on the Planet Earth. The rain in the outside world was going on for several hours. The rain increased in New Eden with violent thunder and lightening. Several lightning bolts struck, setting fires that the heavy rain couldn't control. Paul went manic with power as he systematical destroyed all of New Eden. With smoked filled air, the sounds of the voices begging to come in, Sean knew it was time to end this. With a quick flash of light that seemed to absorb all of Sean's being, Eden plunged into darkness._

End Chapter 39 TBC


	40. Chapter 40

When Martha and Sun Cat returned to treat Sean, Jack was telling Sean a story about a few aliens he met when he had just joined the time agency. It was good to hear the laughter coming from Sean. Jack smiled as Sean chided him for making the tale up.

"I didn't! I swear it really happened! I ran naked through the streets and was picked up by one of my professors at the academy. I think you know why I passed my Astral Temporal Physics class." He pulled the gleeful young man into a sweet kiss that was disturbed by the doctors.

"Well, I guess some of your levels are up Sean." Martha smiled.

"I don't think I have the energy for that yet, Martha. But he is tempting me." He kissed Jack again. "Can Jack stay while we do this? I just want him here. His stories take my mind off of the needles. I hated that when I was being 'cured.' But it helped to pass the time when Liam or my Da would read or talk with me." He held his left arm out for Martha to install the shunt so the infusion could be fed via intravenous through several bags into Sean's body. Sun Cat prepared the stand and the bags, checking all the fluids to make sure they were clean of air bubbles and the tubes were neatly secured.

They let the fluids flow into Sean's body while he was talking to Jack. His voice began to slow down and he fought to keep his eyes open. It was then he jerked himself awake long enough to yell at Martha and Sun Cat. He shook free of Jack as he tried to get the shunt out of his arm.

"What the hell is this? What are you, poisoning me? Are you that scared of me? I would never have hurt any of you! Oh god, you're no different than the others! You're changing me again!" He struggled, but the drug took hold fast. Sobbing, he fell against Jack, who was watching Sean and glaring at the doctors. Sean's breathing became light as he fell asleep. Jack removed himself out from under Sean, laying his lover gently on the pillow.

"What the fuck was that for!" Jack said angrily, pulling Martha out of the room. "Are you mad? He is scared enough that we are going to turn on him, now you open him up to his worst nightmare by giving him a sedative to knock him out. I should just lock you in the room with him when he wakes up. You just pissed off a God!"

"Oh, shit! Jack I swear, we didn't think of it that way!" Sun Cat nodded as she joined them in the hallway. "He needed rest, and sedation was the best way, this way his body can heal. Jack, he was worse than the readings we took said. Mickey brought me the comparative stats and it is pretty bad. He needs many treatments and rest. Sleep mainly. Five days without has damaged his body. I didn't stop to think that he maybe reliving his whole past again. And he said I was one of the good guys." She bit her lip as Sun Cat sighed.

"Martha the sedative was my idea, I'll take the punishment. I'm the one that betrayed his trust. He was blindsided by me. I just thought he would fall asleep. I stupidly didn't take his mental state into consideration, I should have told him. I'm a stupid woman." Pounding her fist into her forehead, Peter came upstairs just in time to stop her. He took hold of her in his arms.

"Hey, he is my son, I betrayed him before. Let him think it was me; I'll be there when he wakes up. I deserve his anger."

"None of you do. I know that now. For all we know he may be thinking this through while he is asleep. He loves you all too much to harm you. If you explain it to him and tell him next time, his trust will return. Listen to me, I sound like Sean now!" Jack looked at his frightened family members. It was a relief to know that this mistake could be fixed.

Jack changed the subject to the relief of the others. "I have to go to see Mickey. Sean said something about Ianto being in charge of New Eden. That is all I was able to get out of him. I'm going to Ianto and find out some answers. Stay with him until I get back. How long is he going to sleep for?" Jack smiled, somehow easing the three Judas before him.

"About 8 hours. I wanted him to just have a good night's sleep." Sun Cat huddled closer to Peter.

"It's okay, I'm sorry for overreacting. I can't help it. He crept into my heart and I don't want that to disappear. That feeling he woke up in me was dead for so long. It feels good to be happy. My advice is let Tina stay with him. She can tell him stories while he sleeps, he will know that all is okay if she is there. Don't ask me how I know that, I just do. And then you can get on your hands and knees and explain yourselves to him when he wakes." He reached for Martha to hold her. "I'm sorry I yelled."

He released her and ran down the stairs out the door to find Mickey.

Gwen and Rhys showed up at Hope that afternoon with some supplies to start the introduction of the new Torchwood 3 base. Andy was there with Alice who had recovered from her morning sickness with some herbs that Sun Cat had given her. Little Ianto Owen was running around after his trip in a Portal saying he was a Time Agent and he was on a mission.

"Hey little man, just simmer down a bit." Rhys caught him and twirled him around.

"Okay Daddy, put me down, I'm a Portal Hopper now!" He laughed at his term that he created and was put down by Rhys, who patted the young boy on his head.

"Portal Hopper! God, that is brilliant, I'll have to tell Sean that we have a word for a Portal traveler now." Paula said while moving a container to the invisible lift after Harry took note of its contents.

"Where are Jack and Sean?" Gwen asked

"Sean is being treated to stabilize his metabolism and Jack killed himself to get to heaven and see Ianto." Andy stated as a rather matter of fact.

"What! Why would he have to kill himself?"

"Ianto sealed the Portal, apparently you have to be dead to enter and he is the only one that will let you leave. That is what I guess from what Jack said that Sean told him that he put Ianto in charge of New Eden." Andy stated. "Look, Mickey tried to open a portal but it wouldn't happen and we were getting sick of Jack carrying on and cursing, so I suggested that Mr. Immortal kill himself." He went back to moving a classified box onto the lift.

Gwen's mouth hung open. "Wait! You just let him do that, and then casually came down to help us?" She seemed unable to wrap her mind around the whole event.

"Oh you should have seen his face light up, it was stunning. He looked like a kid in a candy store. He even kissed Andy for the suggestion. I still love the way you wiped your mouth afterwards. That made me giggle." Alice revealed as she slinked over to kiss her Andy.

Gwen let out a smile as she watched the two together.

"I'm sure he was grateful that his curse came in handy. What must it be like to be pulled out of death over and over again? I couldn't begin to wish that on anyone. But then again I couldn't see a life without Jack right now. He really has grown on me." Rhys admitted.

"Don't worry love; I'll never let him know that you are the president of his fan club." Gwen joked, side stepping her husband and made a grab for her son as she danced him away to fits of giggles. **

_Days Before_

_White, pure white for as far as the eye could see. Paul realized that he stood naked in the white world he seemed to be alone in. He walked forward a little, thinking that it was fog and that maybe it would clear a bit and show him something for the world he stood in. But there were just white wisps here and there like a mist, but not wet or cold. He felt comfortable even if he was exposed. As he walked he began to clear his thoughts. He was sure Sean had put him here. This didn't surprise him that the brat had more powers than he did. Finding Liam alive was a shock as well, at least seeing his appearance as alive. For one brief moment he almost ran to him. But then he remembered that he was Sean's creature and very contaminated by the Brat. _

_As Paul walked he remembered Liam. The first time Paul saw him as he was sitting waiting for an interview with the Project's head. The memory made him smile. There was something in his general appearance that made Paul feel attracted to Liam. He was younger then, much younger than Paul. Black hair, the color of an endless night worn longish and covering his soulful dark brown eyes which would look at him with such love. He wore glasses then, later he had corrective surgery done and his eyes would be endless dark pools when they lay together. His skin was soft for a male, Paul would say almost girly. He would tease him about it and his pale skin tone._

"_Well I just don't get enough sun. You could take me to Mexico. I would have more color then. We could make sweet love in the water." Liam would laugh. He laughed so much until they had him work with the others._

"_I wish I had taken you to Mexico," Paul said out loud. "I wish I ran away with you." _

_He remembered watching the years age Liam, his hair streaked, as Paul aged, not as fast as he thought he would. The Project controller said he wouldn't age that fast. Though he had some powers, it took its toll. He aged faster than normal for his kind. But Liam didn't make Paul. A doctor before him did. That ended in a man taking his own life. That was a secret that Paul didn't share with Liam. He was afraid that if Liam knew what would have happened, as he got involved that he would do the same. _

_But Liam grew to resent Paul. His youthful eagerness to work on an adventure in Bio Alteration was shadowed with the mounting death tolls of the participants and Liam withdrew into his failure. Try as he might Paul couldn't bring Liam out of his depression. Paul was a failed part of the Project; he possessed only 25% of the targeted goal for making one such as the creature. When asked, the thing replied that Paul was too old and corrupted for it to work and when he did use his powers to harm he would start to die faster. Of course Paul knew that the creature just didn't care for him. But he was determined to make the idea work for his backers. _

_He needed to make Liam smile again. So the creation of children with the right genes to support a transformation was the next step. Sean was made with that purpose. There were some others after Sean. _

_Paul still continued to bring others to Liam until Sean was old enough. So the failures and death toll rose, making Liam feel like worst. He fell into Paul's emotional web seeking comfort. It was then that Liam started to see Paul for the maniac he really was. But he needed him and that was why he stayed. Liam didn't want to be away from the chance of making this concept a reality. It was the creature that convinced him to stay by promising him a success. _

_Paul said he found Sean. Liam was not aware of the breeding program then. But when he found out that Paul infected Sean with the cancer and made sure that it wasn't discovered until the boy was made to suffer a most certain death, Liam found out what was really going on when Sean was brought to him. He knew the truth and he hated Paul from that moment forward. _

_Sean's wide eyes and angelic face reached to Liam like no other ever did. Liam told Paul that this one would be a 100% success because the boy was determined to live. It was the creature, Paul would be told later, and that tipped Liam of Sean's importance. _

_As Liam fell for the boy, he fell out of love with Paul. But he was afraid of Paul's anger; having been party to it in the past he played up to Paul and pretended that he still cared, if not so much for his safety but for Sean's life. _

_Paul remembered finding Sean and Liam in the lab one day kissing and undressing each other. It was a few days after Sean's 18__th__ Birthday. Paul knew he had lost to the Angel and his hatred festered. But the boy was a Project success; therefore he could not be harmed. Despite the warnings Paul gave to the Project heads about Sean's inabilities to obey direct orders that put future uses for the boy in question, no one listened to him. They knew now of Liam's involvement with the boy and Paul was speaking out of jealousy. His warnings fell on deaf ears when the reports came in on Sean's growing powers, nothing could stop them building their weapon now. _

_It was years later that Sean rebelled and the heads became less and less convinced that they should keep him alive. Paul knew that to keep Liam by his side, he would make him a deal. _

_He went to Liam one last time and told him a lie. That if he wanted Sean to stay alive, he would have to still come to his bed. In desperation for Sean's life, he agreed. Sean was activated, used as a killing machine then his mind wiped. The lie was that Sean never knew what he had done, and that his gifts were hidden from him in a haze of drugs. But to keep a normal front up Liam was allowed his life with Sean. But to get the drugs to keep Sean stable, Liam found himself in Paul's bed. _

_It wasn't long until Sean figured it out. By then he was growing immune to the drugs, that was when the nightmares began. Paul saw a way of getting rid of the Brat._

_The plan failed._

_Paul thoughts surrounded him in the white space. He saw all of it as he walked to an unknown destination. The images of Sean and Liam on their wedding day were the most hurtful. He should have loved Liam more. He was so full of anger that he was a failed part of the Project that he let it interfere with his love for Liam. He was seeing that now. _

_He was growing tired with each step, like he was winding down, stopping like an old style watch. He saw around him the night he ended Liam's life, destroying the one thing he loved. He thought that he was going to kill the Brat. But Sean projected an aura around himself and the conception for his death fell to Liam. It was not intentional. But Paul was devastated. He made sure the others knew that Sean killed his husband. That the world knew and most importantly Sean was slammed down from his angelic status and made out to be a danger. _

_He slowed even more as the white surroundings became even whiter and another body appeared in front of him. He stopped moving all together. It was Sean. _

_He was also naked, bathed in a warm light. "You are an Angel." Paul said. "Sean, is this my death?"_

"_After all of it Paul, Liam begged for your life. I just wanted you to see the truth, maybe we can reach a compromise." _

_Paul seemed confused. "Begged? Compromise? I don't understand. I'm not defeated yet." He fought the slowing of his body by forcing it to move one step closer to Sean. _

"_But you are at your end, Paul. You have spent all you gifts hating me. It is time to let that go, and embrace the truth. You killed Liam. You took his life because you hated me. That hatred cost you the one thing you loved." Sean was positively glowing his aura was so strong._

"_I know it was me that killed him! I lived with that and made you bear the pain for me. Why didn't you just die? I gave you enough poison to kill an army of Seans. But you kept breaking free. And then you had to find Jack. Of all the people in this world, Jack Harkness comes to the rescue. You really are a chosen one." He let the weight of his guilt collapse his body to the ground. He sat on his knees too weak to even cry. "I understand. I was tainted and never should have been considered for the concept." He sadly laughed. "I was once like you. I just let it all consume me and never understood that it was never all about me. Sean, I'm sorry, really sorry for what happened. For all of it, even the puppy. I surrender myself to you to do what you see fit." He held out his arms, bowing his head, awaiting his judgment. _

_Sean knelt in front of him and reached for his face. Holding the man's head up he willed Paul to open his eyes. Paul saw finally what Liam fell in love with. Compassion and pure love of life shone at him from Sean's eye as he gave himself to the God. _

"_I will take your power and give you a second chance, you can be pure again. You are to be reborn." Sean reached for Paul's aged lips and kissed him with the passion of a lover. Paul melted into Sean and let go all his life into the God before him. The last thought of Dr. Paul Tabor was "I'm free!"_

_Days later:_

Of course even Immortals go mad, Mickey thought as he prepared the equipment to electrocute Jack Harkness. If this wasn't nuts, Mickey might have been enjoying it. How often does one get to kill without penalty?

"You are enjoying this, Mickey?" Jack said as Phil tied him down. Jack gulped back any fear he had. These people were his friends. Surely he had to trust them. He thought of Sean's panic and felt a new kinship with his lover. They maybe in some respect Gods but it didn't mean they didn't have weaknesses. He hoped that when Sean woke up he would not to be too vengeful. He was hoping to be back and recovered enough for when Sean woke up. At least then he could explain it to him and next time he would make sure the doctors didn't make similar mistakes. He knew that Sean could not take life in that way, but he could still cause harm.

"Phil, do you think Sean could hurt something intentionally?" He asked Sean's best friend.

"I would say no, but if he had to, I would say yes. If we crossed him or hurt something of his, he might. I hope I'm wrong in that. Why, did something happen?" He did the final strap around Jack's middle.

"Sun Cat and Martha slipped him a sedative and he freaked out. He thinks they are conspiring against him. I still don't know why they just didn't tell him." Jack made himself comfortable and tried to settle his mind to prepare for his death.

"Stupid, he is going so pissed when he wakes up. But he'll see the truth, he always does. There you go. We now are ready. Hey if you see my grand mum, tell her I love her, and I'm the one that broke the teapot. She'll know what I mean." He looked at Jack for the okay to proceed.

Jack nodded as Phil put the tongue depressor in his mouth. "Can't have you biting your tongue off, can we?" Mickey pulled the switch, sending electrical current through Jack's body.

This time was different from other times; he had a place to go. There was no waiting to wake up or hope that this time he would be dead, Jack had to get somewhere. He realized how powerful his belief was for this time there was a tunnel and a light.

Of course the light led him to a line and he found himself in a queue. But to where Jack couldn't say, he hoped he would get wherever it led before he revived. But for some reason the line of endless faces moved out of his way and he was allowed to go ahead of the others. He thanked each as he passed and before he knew it he was at the front of the line looking at, well, himself.

Jack2 stood there holding a clipboard and a pen. He looked at Jack and went down the list flipping pages. "Jack Harkness, Harkness, Harkson but no Harkness. Oh wait, there you are, due here for another, well, actually you are never due here." The other Jack smiled at the look of utter confusion on the Captain's face. "Okay the list is for show, we really don't have a list but some of the ones that come here need the show to get into the 'spirit' of things. Hey that was funny! See how I used the word spirit when referring to the dead there." He laughed at his own joke. Jack was not seeing the humor. "Oh dear, you are a tough audience. Well I tried. Own Lord and Gorgeous Master is awaiting your presence. As was told to Dorothy by the munchkins, just follow the yellow brick road. Well move it along, there are others that need to get in."

Jack looked down at his feet and found it was indeed a yellow brick road. "Um thanks?" He said as he left himself behind. 'I am handsome aren't I. If I had a little more time I would live out one of those fantasies I always had.' He snickered to himself as he followed the road.

It led him to Ianto standing in a wide field with Liam at his side. He ran to the Welsh man and grabbed him in a strong hug. "It is good to see you." He kissed Ianto softly on the lips and let him go. "I love your gatekeeper, very handsome."

"Well it was either that or he said he would terrorize the newbies by running around naked. We are a family place now after all. It used to be just us, the four of us. Sean had to do something a little different. Please, come have a seat." He produced a soft moss covered chair for Jack to sit in and handed him a drink of orange juice.

"Wow, a drink, a comfortable chair and handsome men, this must be heaven." Jack nodded at Liam.

"Poor Sean! I'm kidding he must be happy to have you around." Liam handed a peach to their guest. "How is he, Jack?" Liam was genuinely concerned for Sean's welfare.

"He is going to be pissed with his doctors when he wakes up. They made him sleep. He isn't doing too well since he got back. He was frozen, I guess in time. But we are hoping to get him back to his healthy self soon. That's why I'm here. It would seem he doesn't want to talk about what happen. I thought that you two would be able to help. Especially you Ianto, seems you were given a job and have somehow been behind the scenes for quite some time." Jack held his drink up to Ianto before taking a sip.

Ianto cleared his throat. "Well, he did seem to be taken with me. He pulled Liam and me out of the dark, as well as Elaine. Jack2 he created for Elaine. He must have had a plan. But we found ourselves here and then the portal opened. The rest you know. I was very taken with Sean, and I'm glad for Liam." He reached for Liam's hand and held it. Jack smiled at the show of affection. He was glad that his Ianto found love, even if it was in the afterworld.

He shook his head to clear away the confusing thoughts and continued the conversation. "So what happened? Why all the people and how did you become in charge?"

"I led Paul back here and he killed me again. Liam and Sean were furious. Paul caused the rain and Sean's pain and sadness fueled it, spilling it over into your world. Though Paul was locked in New Eden, their effects weren't, both being tied to the makeup of the Earth itself. I know it seems strange, but there is no other way to really explain it. Anyway, Paul became angry when he realized what was happening and he began to destroy New Eden. Sean didn't see any other way and removed Paul." Ianto stopped and Liam continued.

"We don't know where they went after that, but the weather calmed a bit. Ianto was dead and returned to the dark, I just held him, letting the tears fall with the rain. In time Sean returned with the infant Paul. He saw Ianto and held my face in his hands and told me not to lose hope." Then Liam let Ianto continue.

"He must have gone into the darkness after me. It was strange for I felt him and I called out to him. But there was so many voices asking him find them; I think he must have gotten desperate with all those voices begging to be allowed the light. So he asked me to come to the light. He was glowing so brightly when I found him. I was happy he didn't leave me behind, that he kept his word that I would never be in the dark again. But others found him as well and the numbers grew. Before long he pulled us out of the dark and back to New Eden. Tosh is here, Jack, not Owen though. I couldn't find Grey either." Ianto paused.

"Tosh, I would like to see her." Jack stood up waiting for Ianto to finish his tale.

"Not everyone followed his light. So there still many in the darkness. We only managed a few million out of the billions of souls, Jack. And not everyone that dies comes here. The problem was that Sean gave me Paul's power and then depleted his own rebuilding and expanding New Eden. He collapsed and didn't move for the longest time. We thought the worst because there were no life signs. But Liam was convinced he was not dead. He just didn't exist in either world. So we sent them both back to the cottage. I finished the work on New Eden and shut the portal to your plane. I have a purpose now, Jack. But I can never leave here again. So Ianto Jones the spy is as dead as Ianto Jones the human. But Ianto Jones, God of the Afterlife, that is something I could get into." He smiled at his old lover as he reached to hug him.

One last kiss and Jack pulled away. "I'm afraid that is all I have to tell you. Sean will have to fill in the rest. Oh wait; there is one last thing. And it isn't good. They're coming back Jack. In twenty years the 456 will be back. We were given that image by the Darkness. I don't know by whom, but Sean is aware of it as well. It does give us the advantage to know about it this time and prepare for it."

Jack's face fell at the news. Just when he thought that maybe they were in for a golden age, they have to prepare for a war. "Us?" Jack looked at Ianto as if was a madman.

"Just because we are dead doesn't mean we can't help. I have some of history's finest minds here. And I can let whomever I want in. So we can still keep in touch." He put his arm around Liam waist.

"And I'm going to set up a computer system of the Gods here Jack." The woman's voice was all too familiar as he turned to see Tosh standing next to Tommy.

"I'll be damned! This must be Christmas." His laugther was musical as he grabbed Tosh and spun her around. He pulled her in for a hug and kissed her warm lips. Tommy just smiled at the reuniting friends.

"We've come up with a great design and we are starting the building next week. If we can just get some of the others to come into this century instead of their own narrow time periods, it might be ready in time." Tommy smiled at Jack.

It was then that Jack felt the pull of his body regaining life. "I'm sorry sweethearts, but I have to go back." He hugged them all one last time before he was pulled back to his body. Phil eased him back to laying down after he was done gasping for air.

"Welcome back, Jack." Phil said handing him a glass of water.

It was as he reached for the glass of water that he noticed he still had the peach in his hand. "Phil, this is a peach from New Eden. Since it is from the land of the dead, why don't you analyze it and let me know what you find out. I wouldn't eat it if I were you. It may do something to your body." He winked but he realized that moving was a mistake; he needed a moment to recover. So he closed his eyes and put together his thoughts.

Phil took the peach for further study. "I better make sure Mickey doesn't eat this, he is a pig."

"Like I would eat a peach from beyond the grave. I think not." They laughed at Mickey's face as it peeked in from the flaps. Jack smiled to himself as he tried to rest with so many thoughts.

_End Chapter 40. TBC_


	41. Chapter 41

"_I will go on for a long life, and then one day just fade away." The young time God said to the Immortal God. "But until then we can be together." _

_The Immortal God embarrassed the Time God and they coupled by the stream by the cottage in the Eden they had designed. _

"_Even after that we will be together." The Immortal God kissed the Time God's nose. "I will take you with me until Time stops and I cry out to nothing but the ones I loved."_

"_And we will start the universe again for you, and you will wait for us to find you again. I will weave a new time, with you at the center and we will live next to you." The young Time God reached for his lover's face and lost the thoughts in his head to a kiss. _

"_When we meet again it will be light and the Universe will remember to love again. As we will remember you as well."_

Sean awoke to his Da reading a book aloud to him. He moaned a little, shaking his head to clear the drug's effect away. He blinked at his Da. He looked older than he remembered. It was like Sean was seeing his age for the first time and understanding how it really worked. Now, time was second nature. "I have become." He said out loud.

Peter jumped at Sean's voice. "My dear, you always were." He put the book down and helped Sean sit up. He handed Sean a glass of water. Sean held it for a moment just staring at it. "Sean, it is just water, we have to talk about what your silly doctors did. I know it seems like they meant to hurt you. I can understand where that thought came from, but it wasn't supposed to be anything. Sean, we came close to losing you; you were in that bad of a state. Sun Cat just wanted you to be well. For the infusion to work better, sleep was needed. She and Martha knew that you wouldn't have sat still long enough for the cure to work properly. Besides, I think that man of yours put the fear of God into them - me as well. I almost wet myself." Peter watched his son's face change a little at the mention of Jack. He still studied the glass of water.

"I just don't want to feel that helpless again. Da, it was like I couldn't be me, like in the hospital. Liam would just do things and not tell me. I just don't want to have to fear the ones I love again, especially you." He looked at his Da with soft watery eyes before returning to the water glass. With another second thought, he put the glass to his lips draining half of it down his throat before returning it to the nightstand. He smoothed the covers and folded his hands waiting his father's voice to comfort him.

"We are really sorry for what happened. Sean, from now on you will be told everything. You have to have more treatments for a bit. Sun Cat feels that you need to take it easy and that with rest and the infusions you will be better in no time. Right now the world is pretty stabilized and the machine is fine. All of Hope wants you to just rest and get better. There were a bunch of them here earlier waiting for news. We told them that you need some quiet time and that you would be with them shortly. They are planning a big party." Peter reached out to hold onto Sean's hand. He was relieved when his son didn't pull away. Their eyes met as father and son went back to being close again.

Sean's anger and brooding subsided with the news of Hope. He was thankful for them more than they could ever be for him. But he was really missing Jack now, he was afraid to talk about him at the moment about Paul. He had a feeling Jack just did exactly what Sean was hoping for the man to avoid. Sean felt like a tart for not telling Jack the whole story, but in a way he was glad that the Immortal more than likely found out the answers on his own. It was good for Sean; he would rather the memories of Paul and the darkness stay silent for a bit. He just didn't feel the need to talk about it. Since Jack was big enough to figure it out then it was a blessing to have a clever lover that didn't need to know every little thing that went on in his head. He gave Jack the same privacy knowing in time, they would share everything. It just didn't matter if it was all at once.

"Jack went to New Eden, right?" It was barely a whisper in Peter's direction.

"I had reports that he had Phil and Mickey electrocute him to death so he could get into the place." He looked at the emotionless face of his son. Sean just looked at his hands.

"What must that be like Da, to die and come back? He could have just waited for me to take him. Ianto can try to keep me out, but I have a way in." He smiled slightly. " I just won't go in unless I'm invited, it is out of respect for Ianto. Nothing more."

"Sean, I'm too old to begin to understand all of this talk. I think that you should talk to the others. Tell them what has happened to change things. I'm just getting lost and your mood is making me upset." He reached to warm his old form on his son; Sean was shaking as the emotions were freed.

They stayed that way until Tina came to the door. She knocked gently. "May I come in?" Her voice was so quiet as if she was afraid.

Sean was released from his Da's embrace and held out his arms to the little girl. Tina leapt into her new brother's arms and cuddled up with him under the blanket. "I heard Uncle Jack would be here soon. Sun Cat said she was down at the tent to make sure he was okay. A little singed she said, but he is fine."

Kissing the top of her head, he thanked his little sibling and closed his eyes for a moment. Jack was coming home soon. He didn't want to look as tired as he felt. But with the added warmth of Tina, he soon slid down into the bed and drifted back to sleep.

It wasn't long for the treatments to take hold and begin to heal Sean's battered body and soul. Little Paul was making a fuss one day when Sean was suppose to be resting. The baby was screaming as Sean was sleeping upstairs. He opened his eyes, sighing he sat up and went to see what was up with the infant and why no one seemed to helping the child.

He stood in the doorway watching the baby cry. He really didn't want to be involved with the boy at all. It was Paul and he couldn't get that out of his mind. Paul hurt the people Sean loved and the ones that they loved, why should he bring comfort to that?

The baby sobbed when it realized it was alone and no one was coming to help it. It appeared to be defeated and just cried quietly to himself in loneliness. Sean felt the ice melt in his chest as he watched the child battle its demons. It was then that he went to the child and picked up the innocent, holding him in his arms. The boy took to Sean as he cooed and cuddled it. "Hey I'm here, it's all right." He walked around the room with the infant making baby noises. That was how Jack found him.

"He likes you." Jack stood in the door watching the two with a smile.

"He needs to be changed. I don't have a clue about how to do that." He made his way towards Jack.

Jack curled his nose at the smell of baby and moved away a bit. "Don't take this wrong, but I would love to get close to you, but that smell is really not attractive. Can't you just send it through a portal or something?" He tried to seem sincere. Sean wasn't buying it.

"Oh you just want me to get stuck on my back for a few more days. You heard my doctors. No portal opening for a few more days. Meanwhile, you had kids, didn't you ever have to, you know, change one of these things? Or at least didn't you have a lover with a diaper fetish once?" He baited Jack. Sean was getting very good at pushing Jack's buttons.

"No why, I don't think so. I mean the kid part, yes; the adult diaper thing just wasn't my thing. But I might have worn one myself." He leaned in on Sean and gave him a kiss, retrieving the infant and bringing him over to the changing table.

Jack showed off his skill by teaching Sean how to change the infant. Before long, Sean and Jack were working as a team efficiently changing Paul and then feeding him. Sean sat in the rocking chair as the baby ate. Jack cleaned up and changed the baby's sheets. There was pleasant warmth growing inside the two men as they each watched Paul drinking his dinner.

It was Jack that spoke first. "Ralph and Helen said they would take him. I told them that would be a good idea. There were other couples that were interested as well, maybe we should have a race and the winner…" He was hit in the back of his head by a pillow. "Really, you have to stop doing that." Jack turned around and froze. Sean face was aglow as he feed the baby. It really made Jack wonder if maybe they should raise the child. Sean was a vision and Jack was starting to feel very domestic and stable. He was suddenly aware that the fertile earth that Sean started to grow plants in was allowing Jack to also put down roots. It scared him when as he heard the words come out of his mouth.

"Or we could raise him. He likes you." He closed his eyes trying to stop the dizzy feeling that worked through his body. He must be mad to think it, but he just wanted home and a bit of normal. They had Tina why not little Paul?

Sean didn't look up but his face was shining as he smiled at the infant. "We would have to change his name and he could never find out how he was made, at least not until he was older. I think it would be the right thing to do. Somehow it seems to be the way things are meant to be." Sean leaned in a kissed the top of the baby's head. Smelling that new baby smell and feeling the softness of his skin he turned his gaze to Jack.

"Alexander, we should call him that. Your last name or mine?" Jack walked over to the pair and knelt in front of the two shaking a rattle at the newly named Alex.

"Yours, and why Alexander?"

"I was a boy with that name once. Might as well put it to use again. But Alexander Harkness, sounds like a 1930's serial adventure hero."

"Well isn't that what you're like sometimes?" Sean giggled.

Jack cupped Sean's cheek and reached in for a kiss. "I guess I am. Well I guess we are parents then." Little Alex was asleep in Sean's arms. They gently put him back in the crib and arm and arm went back upstairs so Sean could rest.

_Later that day:_

"What?" Paula yelled as Sean told her the news.

"We're going to raise the boy together. What is so bad about that?" Sean frowned at his friend. The smell of barbeque turned his nose up to the air. "Oh Jack's outdoing himself again."

They were out in the garden waiting for lunch. It felt nice to sit in the yard and feel the sun; in just a few days Sean could be his own person again. It would be nice to go roaming around and see the people at Hope. The nice thing was that Jack and he were never at a loss for a baby sitter, so as soon as they could, they were planning on a little vacation. It was Martha who insisted they take a little time and 'explore' things a bit. Sean laughed at her; she had a deviously dirty mind when needed.

Jack couldn't pack his 'toys' fast enough for the trip. Sean just blinked. He just realized he had signed up for a life with a madman and he was wondering if that was the right thing to have done. But watching his madman pack his little play things and giggle, he knew he was definitely at the right place and at the right time.

"So you have not only taken on Tina, but baby - what is his name as well?"

"Alexander is that such a hard name to remember. Really, you would think that it was a name of a Welsh town! I don't think it is a bad name at all. It fits him. He is a little cutie especially when Jack tickles him. Hey, if you are ever feeling maternal, we'll add you to the list of babysitters." He grabbed the half eaten apple out of Paula's hand and took a bite. "It was starting to brown with lack of eating. Hey, I didn't want it to go to waste!" He snapped when she gave him a death glare.

"Really, you could have asked! This thing of taking food, it will stop at some point, right? You seem to be not able to control yourself." He had stopped listening to the lecture as a vision from heaven approached him. A roast chicken on a plate with potatoes and carrots glided towards him carried by Jack. To Sean it was in slow motion, Jack brushing the hair out of his eyes, wrapped in a cook's apron of red and black as he glided the sexy food to Sean's watering mouth. Sean stood at his approach marveling at the cooked bird he presented.

Jack leaned in for a kiss from his lover only to be pushed away by Sean taking the plate. He then began to devour the bird without asking anyone else if they wanted any. The group just watched as Sean inhaled the meat and veggies without even a fork.

"Jack, I think he has a new love. Sean, what about the rest of us?" It was Rhys who earned a death glare from Jack and a "get your own" from Sean.

The group exploded with laughter. Jack in his wisdom spoke. "I knew this was going to happen and I planned ahead. Everyone, there is more down by the BBQ pit. Shall we eat before he has figured out that I didn't cook just for him?"

The group laughingly got up quickly to eat while Sean, lost in another world, vivisected the roasted bird.

Ianto the bird chirped from her nest in the tree above, disapproving of the cannibalistic show below her. But her young captured her attention and she found herself tending to them first and forgetting her man friend's trespasses.

"Is it true if you put your hands too close to his food, he growls?" Helen asked.

Peter and Sun Cat laughed, as did some others. "And bites!" Peter replied. "I think at some point we are going to have to lock him up during feeding time. I think Jack has given up any dream of taking him to a restaurant, Sean just can't seem to eat without ravishing his food."

"I love the ravishing part myself, but not when it comes to the food. Ouch, Gwen you didn't have to hit." Jack stuck his tongue out at Gwen. "It wasn't like I went into detail. Damn woman, you can hurt." He rubbed his arm and glared at her.

The rest of the group laughed and went for the rest of the food. It was no surprise that they ate fast, afraid that Sean would slither up and run off with their meals.

It was Andy who pulled out a device was that strapped to the back of his belt. He laid it on the table.

"What is that for?" Alice asked picking the instrument up as she studied it.

"That my love is a portal detector. If that brat tries to open up a portal and take my food like he did my sandwich the other day, I will be ready."

Alice began to laugh deeply. She was near tears before she was able to produce her confession. "That wasn't Sean, it was me. I didn't have the heart to say that I took it, and besides you were so funny looking for it under the table and chairs, retracing your steps and then when you thought it was Sean, I just needed a good laugh."

"Wait, you did it?" He kissed the chicken grease off her lips. "Well I can't get mad

at that, but just in case our 'God' decides to be smart and steal food, I'm ready. Sneaky bugger, I'm sure he already has done it."

"Why open a portal? He just takes it out of your hand. He pinched my apple before, said I wasn't eating it fast enough." Paula bitched, taking a sig of wine.

Alice watched Jack as he took in the banter with amusement. Sean was really getting a name for himself. It was about time that her Dad stopped being a super hero and just was a man. This group brought that out in him. He was one of them not alone or separate but one of many. In her eyes he was enjoying life for a change. 'Hey Mum,' she thought, looking up to the sky, or was it towards New Eden? 'I have my happy Daddy finally. Shame you can't be here to see him. Well maybe you can.' She rubbed her middle and reached for Andy's hand. It ended up being pulled to his lips in a soft kiss.

None of that escaped Jack. He was now allowed to part take in the meal sitting between Gwen and Rodger. Both leaders were joking and having a great time. Jack became aware that Sean was no longer sitting at his table. "Hey Andy, did a Portal open?"

Andy wiped his mouth and checked the device. "Not according to this, why?"

He stood a look of concern on his face. "Sean's gone." The group stopped eating. The silence fell on them. " Okay everyone, don't panic. I'll go have a look. I think I know where he is."

_If I could only know..._

Sean waited for the portal to open. He didn't have enough energy to go in. Not yet anyway, so he asked if Liam could come to him. With his meal in his belly and the others having a good time. Sean slipped away, down the path to Elaine's Grove and sat against her tombstone. He was thinking about whistling while he waited. The grass moved with the warm air as the sun made the yellows and whites of the wild flowers seem even stronger in color. It was a wonderful afternoon, perfect of the outdoor food. Now that it only rained when he wanted it to, it could also be a beautiful day every day. For something reason that song in the musical Camelot kept playing in his head.

"That's because it was your favorite, right Liam?" He started to sing, "In short, there's simply not a more congenial spot, for happily-ever-aftering than here in Camelot."

"You always did have a pretty voice, Sean. Do you remember how we use to watch the Sound of Music every Christmas? I loved doing that with you. We laughed around the tears and the pain. I love you." Liam sat in solid form next to his once husband. He draped an arm around Sean, leaning into him. It was just a friendly hug; they were past any sexual desire. But it brought back memories.

"I'm not mad that you told him. I just can't talk about it. I still don't want to say what happened with Paul. Jack and I adopted him, changed his name. We hope he'll have a better life the second time around." Sean rested his head on Liam's chest. " I'm in love and I don't know what to do. I fear it won't last." A warm breeze kicked up around them causing fairy-like seedpods to dance around their heads.

"We have twenty years until the 456 come back. By then we can find those that are responsible for the whole mess to begin with. Not just you, but the ones that bargained with those children back in 1965. The Project was just part of it. Your mother and the rest were just pawns to a bigger picture. We have the advantage. Hope and you are hidden from them. Oh and Ianto! Don't forget Ianto, there is nothing my Lord of the Afterlife can't find out." He squeezed Sean protectively like he always did when the young man was frighten.

"I will have your Lord's backing when the time comes. I mean I will need an army and a scary one. I wonder if the 456 believe in ghosts." He smiled as the wind brought a whiff of Jack on the air. "Oh, Jack found me. I think you should go. I don't want to bring him down yet with too much talk of the future. I want my vacation first." He stole a kiss from Liam.

His ex lover stood, awaiting his doorway back home to Ianto. "We have time and knowledge now. They won't stand a chance. Tell the handsome one that Ianto says hi and that I'll kick his Immortal ass through the cosmos if he ever makes you cry." Liam stepped out of the real world and into his home of Eden.

Twenty years and there was still so much to learn about the enemy and how to stop them. Sean closed his eyes and rested to the sound of birds and Jack's footsteps.

Jack thought that Sean was hurt; he didn't seem to be moving when he approached the man sitting against Elaine's grave. "Sean?" He ventured.

"I was just thinking about the beginning of time. This place, not a person walked here or got to appreciate its beauty for most of Time on this world. Jack, I can see the beauty and I want to stop the ugliness. But Chaos brings forth art. Distress and suffering creates talent. If I design a Utopia, will I be taking away the humans individuality and the creative force that engineers what we see as pleasing, what leads us to be aware we have a soul?" Sean seemed so lost right there, like there was a step he had to take and it had to start on the right foot.

"What is the meaning of Time? Is it something we waste, something we hold onto, or is it not real at all? The Universe runs on a different principle of physics and mathematics. It is the reality, but where does Time enter into this? It is just a way to measure the moments before they end. But who is there to measure Time and keep it from corruption? Because human words are always meant to change like human fashions. Nothing stays forever, and all things pass and my lot is to watch it happen. That doesn't mean we have to believe it. After all, I'm possibly something that will stay forever." Jack's words made sense to Sean. He above all would get what was going on. It was always Time. They had to make Time to save Time.

"What is Time if we don't take the little moments to heart? Those matter more than an eternity. We miss all those small bits in are attempt to capture the bigger ones, those that the world think are more important. But if you were to remember the small ones you don't need what the world thinks, you have all the answers then. We have to spend it wisely. So the artist can flow through Chaos. And the creator can master and be admired. Jack when the 456 come we have to protect this. I know we will be ready."

Jack closed the gap. He sat in the spot Liam had been in moments before. It wouldn't be the last of such conversations the two would have. But it was the beginning of a deeper understanding.

A soft kiss touched parted lips as two sets of eyes locked onto each other. Jack spoke to Sean. "It hurts to love; it hurts to love them all. But it doesn't hurt so much anymore."

"If we love one person in our lifetime, we are lucky." Sean glanced at Elaine's grave. "If we love two we are blessed." He turned back to Jack. "Any more than that, we are fickle." He smiled. "You loved more than a hundred. Ianto and Elaine loved you more than a hundred ever could love. And I love you more than the universe has stars. You should be grateful that we all will be with you forever."

Jack reached for Sean and held him tight. "We'll figure it out, I promise. I won't let you down. Not when I have to look at all of you through eternity!" He stole another kiss, moving the young man on to the soft grass.

"What, on Elaine's grave?" Sean pushed Jack's shaggy bangs out of his eyes. He was admiring his handy work at bringing the rose to Jack's cheeks.

"You're right, not in good taste. There is a spot down the hill. I think that will do. But we walk there. No portals!" He rubbed his finger over Sean's soft lips to silence the protest. With regret he helped his lover up. They walked hand in hand into an unknown future. But at least they weren't alone.

_God's Chapter 41 The End. _

_Epilogue: Two years later. 18 years to go. _

"Hey, we got another government type heading this way Sean." Phil's voice sounded in Sean's earpiece.

"Okay Phil. I'm setting the machine to open up the Portal to 1951; they'll ride past us literally in that time and they will return back to their time." He smiled at his internal wickedness.

"Jack isn't going to be too happy about that, he keeps worrying about the paradox that might occur if they pass themselves one day!" Phil was pouring laughter through the earpiece.

"Jack is worried that in 1951 he was running down the road naked and flagged some guys down for a lift. He thinks it might have been our friends with the government. You should have seen the glow he had on, his eyes all misty as he remembered the men in their uniforms. Do you think that they would remember him?"

"Don't let Jack hear you say that he might be forgettable." Phil lost control as Sean set the machine, passed his hands over the controls and closed his eyes to calibrate the sequence order to open the portal to 1951.

A familiar pair of arms wrapped around his waist just as hot lips found his neck. "Jack, I will have a Paradox occurring if you don't stop that."

"Oh I don't know if I care about that right now. I would suffer that because you just keep having this effect on me." He went for the ear and nibbled.

Sean was able to set the machine despite Jack's distraction. With the trouble diverted, Jack saw no reason not to go to their spot by the stream. The weather being a little warmer than normal, it was the perfect time for some after portal opening romance.

"I'm beginning to think it is my abilities that are the turn on. You seem to get excited when I use them." Sean pulled away from Jack, which was harder to do than one would think. Sean's head swooned with Jack's scent. He was emitting a lot more pheromones than normal.

"Oh no, it is how you look afterwards, you are radiant. I love you, that is why I'm all over you." He pulled the hazel-eyed Angel back into his hold. He found soft lips parted and ready to be sucked on. "We should get to the stream; any of your crew could walk in here. As much as I love a show, I don't think I want to share you with them." Jack Harkness didn't make a joke with that comment. It was real and from the heart.

Sean smiled at the possessiveness for a change. "Well let's not delay; I'll get us there fast." He closed his eyes, turning around he held out his hand and with a quick snap of the fingers the portal opened to the stream. "All aboard to 1951, let us hope you are not running around naked. I couldn't really take on two of you. And mister, you can get that smile off you face. I really don't care to see you making love to yourself. But one day if you are good, there is always Birthdays and Christmas for such presents!" Sean laughed at Jack as he followed him not quite sure what to say to his Angel's wit.

_Things to fear_:

The group didn't have a purpose until an alien race known only as the 456 came to earth and stole children. They gave humanity a cure for a virus that could have wiped out a large amount to the population. The cure gave the group more than that. It gave them power. And they used it to the fullness of their capabilities. They started to manufacture drugs. All types of cures for the ill and dying were churned out from one suggested cure from an alien race that took 11 children, sometime back in 1965. Of course most of the population were denied the medicines. Which made the 456's return likely. They had an in already, Humanity's fear of death.

Humanity would turn on each other to prevent that from happening. Not just as a group. But some chosen few saw opportunity in how to use the panic. "Why not use it to control an industry?" The bright ones said. "And there is always room for expansion. We can seek other things for profit. Hey that is what mankind is, opportunistic!"

It was within this illness called greed that the world ended and was born again. Within time the group would show itself. Forced out buy a torch in the night and they would have to answer to judgment's call. That would be at the end of all things when the 456 returned to face the wrath of the Gods.

But that is another story.

Thank you for reading. I hope you all enjoyed it! xoxoxoxoxox


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